Chasing the Sun
by M. Michelon
Summary: Kim Conwell is one of two Conwell girls. She's gotten used to playing second fiddle to her twin sister, to supporting Katie in anything and everything. Kim's needs come second; her horses and competitions come second. Her world is a never ending swirl of blackness, of shadows that she must hide behind. There's only one way to survive: keep chasing the sun until you find the light.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: I'm back! Hello, all the lovely, lovely readers of my little ****_Twilight_**** world. So, let's start with some new introductions and some updates. ****_Chivalry is Dead _****and ****_Lies_**** had been flagged by a reader on the site for inappropriate content. FanFiction's administrators removed the stories. Originally, my plan had been to polish up the stories and post them again (making sure that they were still rating appropriate), but shortly after they were taken down, my computer crashed and I lost all the data. As many people know, rewriting something that you've already written is difficult. So, I bring you ****_Chasing the Sun_****! There will still be aspects of it that are reminiscent of ****_Chivalry is Dead_****, but this is a completely new story line and a completely different idea. Okay? Okay!**

**Also, in light of recent events, I'm instituting new writing rules. Stories are updated ****every other day.**** In order for a story to stay up, in the early days (the first five chapters), there is a review requirement. In other words, I need two reviews on today's chapter to let me know that people are reading and are excited to see what happens. Okay? Okay! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

"What on Earth do you think you are doing?" my mother demanded of me, her eyes dark and her lips pursed. "You had better not be thinking about dragging all of that mud through my house. We are leaving for the dress fitting in Seattle in an hour, Kimberly. You were supposed to be home more than thirty minutes ago." I tried to set my mind aside, to ignore her and avoid hearing her mother rail at her. It wasn't the first time that her mother had come down on her for being late.

"I'm sorry, Mother," I whispered, tugging off my square-toed boots and placing them just outside the door. My mother was never one to allow my boots in the house. They were filled with filth and dirt and my mother would die before they crossed her threshold. "I'll just go upstairs to change."

"I cannot possibly bring you to the dress maker until you've showered. Lord have mercy, Kimberly, you would touch those fabrics and ruin them in an instant. You go and get in the shower. I'll just have to let your sister know that we will be late because of your carelessness," she informed me.

It wasn't the first time that my mother blamed me for the things that weren't really my fault. I had no problem washing my hands and arms to make sure that I didn't mark up the fabric in the dress store. Heck, I could even understand her wanting me to jump in the shower. But my mother wouldn't want me to just hose off and get dressed. Not if we were going to Seattle. I would need to shave my legs and put on bronzer and pull my hair back and look like I cared when I didn't.

I rolled up the hem of my pants to make sure that the sand sticking to my pant legs didn't drag through my mother's house. Walking like a scarecrow, I stumbled through the house and up the stairs, passing my father's office, my parents bedroom, and my sister's room before making it to the safe haven that I called my bedroom.

My mother and sister tended to pretend that they weren't of any Native American descent. At least, they didn't care about it until it became pertinent. Like at one of Katie's pageants. When we were at one of the beauty pageants, my sister was suddenly one of the proudest Native American girls you'd ever meet. Our house was decorated to the nines with modern, contemporary furniture, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. There was nothing warm or inviting about the house that we lived in, but that was mostly because of my mother's choices. Even her "pops of color," as she called them, weren't enough to make the monotone house something that welcome people.

The second story of the house was the slightest bit warmer, but it still looked like a staged house. My father's office was made of hard mahogany wood, accented with red and black leather trim. It was full of technology and electronics. Even the bookshelf was mostly empty. My parents bedroom, which adjoined the office since my father cannot tear himself away from his work for more than an instant, was supposed to be warm and inviting, but it was just another perfected area. _Better Home & Garden_ would photograph the room instantly. My sister's room was a pale, soft pink with white trim and bright, organza curtains. Her bed was like something out of a fairytale. Four posters with a canopy draped down over the top, a white duvet with fluffy pillows in varying shades of pink. Dark, hardwood floors with a fluffy white rug on the ground. It was a princess's chamber.

My room, however, was a reflection of me. It was the black sheep in the house and I was the black sheep in our family. The walls in my chambers were white, since my mother had yet to approve of the colors that I wanted to paint them. My walls, however, were littered with pictures. Photos that my grandfather had taken, pictures that my cousins had painted, things that I had found and purchased. My bedspread was a deep, dark red with white diamonds woven into it. A dark wood round chair sat in the corner, the first afghan that I'd ever woven draped over it.

The desk and chair took up the opposite corner of the room, although my homework was spread over my bed instead of the desk. The writing table was draped in ribbons and trophies and belt buckles that I hadn't found time or space to hang on my wall or put in my case. For the time being, they were just there though. Not like Katie's sashes and crowns, displayed openly for all to see.

"Are you kidding me?" I heard Katie shout less than a moment later. "Mother, she is one the top designers in this state. If I don't have a dress by her, there's no way that I'll win that pageant." My mother's voice was softer and more subdued, but I was sure that she was only explaining that I had been foolish, carless, and selfish. "I don't understand why we're even waiting for her. It does no good. The dress makers say the same thing every time. Kim's measurements are always so much larger than mine. They can't have her try on dresses because she's so much larger."

"But we can see the fabric against her skin tone!" I heard my mother shouting after my sister, who was stomping up the stairs and into her room. She gave a decidedly feminine scream of distaste and slammed her door shut, probably throwing herself over her bed where she could wallow in pity about her sister, who wasn't able to help her do anything in her pageant career.

I sighed heavily and stripped from my clothes, wrapping the towel tight around my body as I padded down the hallway, trying not to look at my sister's closed door. The sooner I showered, the sooner we could get to the dressmaker's, and the faster that I could go home again, where I could hide until the morning, until the sunlight came back around.


	2. Chapter I

**Author's Note: Wow! You guys are truly amazing. I wasn't expecting the reaction that I got. So, I'm going to take a few moments to address some of the reviews. For those who read ****_Chivalry is Dead_****, this story will have many similarities. It ties into my story, ****_The Consequences_****. I won't be deviated from what is mentioned in that story, so there are still some major points to hit that were also in ****_Chivalry is Dead_****. Soooo...I think that just about covers everything. Just a reminder: stories are updated ****_every other day_****. Enjoy!**

**Chapter I**

"I don't know why you let them walk all over you," Martha said for the millionth time. "It's not like they're going to do anything if you say no."

"Maybe you're not remembering the last time as clearly as I am. I missed state, _state_, because I told my mother that I wasn't going to my sister's regional dance competition. Perhaps you don't recall. My mother put a padlock on each of their stalls. And they didn't stay locked up for _just_ the competition; she locked them away for a month. Do you have any idea how long that month was?" I scoffed. "I'm only grateful that she let you take them out of their stalls." I reached down and rubbed Apache's neck, savoring the feel of smooth horse hair beneath my fingertips.

Martha stepped forward, her old hands coming up to frame my face in the familiar fashion. "Do you remember what you told me when I married Tex five years ago?" she asked, her voice low. I rolled my eyes and tried to look away, but her hands tightened and forced me to keep looking at her. "You told me that you were happy Tex had finally found someone as beautiful as me to stick with him for the rest of his life."

"And if I recall, Martha, you told _me_ that no one finds an old woman with hair that looks like fraying thread beautiful," I retorted, smiling at her this time. She couldn't have been more wrong.

"And you told me, miss Kimberly Conwell, that beauty isn't all that matters in the world," Martha said, tipping the girl's face forward and press a kiss against her forehead. "You and your sister look exactly alike, Kim; but you are infinitely more beautiful than your sister. And it's not because you look like a human being instead of the stick figure that your sister tries to be. It's because you, Kim, have the most honest, beautiful soul of any human being that I have ever met. Despite what your mother has tried to make you believe, despite the things that she's taught you from childhood, you are still one of the best girls that I have met. Some day, you'll find a man who realizes just how much you are worth."

"And some day," I replied with a smile, pulling out of her grasp. "Hell will freeze over."

I pulled the saddle off of my tri-colored paint, patting the animal's sweaty hide as she dragged it away. "Which means, Apache, we aren't going to be able to go on a trail ride this weekend," I told the paint horse, patting his side again and shoving the saddle on a saddle rack. I hid my disappointment over the fact that I wasn't going to get to train Comanche over the weekend. I had been so looking forward to the fact that I would be able to take both horses to the beach.

My horses were my life. They were one of the few things that I had that were completely, irrefutably mine. Them, and school. My sister could take credit for my chores, could take credit for my cooking, could take credit for almost everything; but she couldn't take credit for my grades or my horses. I started out every morning with my horses; I had from the time that I was eight. While my sister was allowed to do whatever it was that she wanted, no requirements attached, I had to work for it. As my mother had said millions of time in my life, "I won't pay a fortune for those damn horses. If you want them so desperately, you will find a way to make it cheaper."

So I did. Thankfully, Tex McCabe is the kind of man who lives with a bleeding heart. He allowed me to clean my own stalls, to feed my own horses, to do everything short of pay for the hay for my little monsters. I did everything that I was supposed to do, but it was still nothing that worked to please my mother. She hated my horses. Well, at least, she did until my sister wanted to use one of them for some photo shoot or another.

"I have to get running to school, Martha, or I'm going to be late," I said, leading one of my four horses back to his stall. School and this barn; those were my domains. They were the only places that I was in complete control; the only places where I didn't have to hide.

_Well, that's not entirely true_, my brain was quick to remind me the moment that I came into the school's parking lot. The La Push Gang, though they hardly qualified as a gang, were all standing in the parking lot as well. All save their leader, Sam Uley; he'd graduated years earlier. Jake Black, Jared Littlecreek, Embry Call, and Paul LaHote. But I was only really interested in Jared. Jared Littlecreek, the boy who had the entire school wrapped around his pinky finger.

The boy who looked at my sister like she was a goddess. The boy that I would never know. I suppose I should be thankful that he even knew my name. There were very few people in the school that did, which was saying a lot considering the size of the school. It wasn't like it even mattered. Truly. Katie had decided in the seventh grade that Jared was the man that she wanted. He was a good football player, a good student, and, most importantly to Katie, the best looking boy in the school. For the last four years, Katie had talked endlessly about the way that she and Jared were going to go to prom, to graduate, to go off to college together, to get married, and eventually have kids. So, it wouldn't matter what I did. Katie would have him in the end and my little crush would be worthless.

I pulled my truck into my spot and parked, reaching over for my satchel school bag. I kept my head tucked as I walked through the corridors, hiding from everyone. If I couldn't meet their eye, I couldn't see the way that they were silently comparing me to to Katie. We looked exactly the same. Same oval face, same wide lips, same almond eyes. Katie was an inch shorter than me, her waist several inches smaller. I outweighed her by at least ten pounds, which my mother liked to make sure I remembered. Katie and I looked exactly the same if you weren't paying attention, but we were nothing alike.

Every person on campus knew my sister and, more importantly, knew that I wasn't at all like her. Walking on campus, I was immediately compared. I could see the people staring at me, silently questioning me. Okay, so school wasn't exactly my domain. My sister was the most popular girl in school. I was almost like the hated ugly stepsister in the story. The one who never did anything, but you hated her. But school_work_; that was my home. It was where I was most comfortable.

Looking down, I couldn't see the wall of a man that had walked up in front of me. I collided with his chest, bouncing back and nearly hitting the ground. In fact, my butt would've hit the cement if it hadn't been for the arms that coiled around me. "I'm sorry; I didn't see you there," the deep voice, I had been_ praying_ it wouldn't be, rumbled. I leaned back and saw the outline of the man that was standing before her. I quickly ducked my head again, looking down at the ground and wishing the ground would just swallow me whole.

"I'm sorry; I should've been looking where I'm going," I managed to stutter out. Firmly, I kept my gaze on the ground. "I'll just move out of your way. I'm so sorry." _Please, just act like I'm not even here,_ I added in my head.

"It's fine, Kim. I wasn't paying attention," he replied, but my heart wouldn't beat.

"I'm sorry," I repeated and quickly backed away, avoiding eye contact on every level.

"My sister is a real klutz, Jared. I swear, sometimes I don't know how we could be related sometimes," I heard Katie saying, but you could barely call it her voice. My sister had several different voices that she used when she thought that she should use them. If she was angry and bellowing through the halls, she sounded like a wailing banshee. When she wanted something from someone, including me, she sounded like an angel. And when she was flirting, her voice was so nasally, I wanted nothing more than to punch her in the nose.

"You could be a little nicer to your sister," Jared chastised, but I was too focused on staying away from everyone to listen. I opened my locker, through the books I didn't need in, grabbed what I did, and sprinted. If there was one thing that I didn't want to deal with, it was my sister's flirting with Jared Littlecreek. It was another reminder of the differences between us and the things that I would never have.


	3. Chapter II

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I know that there was supposed to be a chapter on Thursday. I work nights as a waitress and, long story short, I had a table that stayed nearly an hour after closing and I didn't get home until super late. So, here's today's chapter. If you are all interested in the next chapter, it could possibly be up tonight. It would depend on the number of reviews...It's up to you! Enjoy!**

**Chapter II**

"Hey Kim," Ryanne Swan greeted me as I walked into the chemistry classroom the next week. "I'm glad you're here," she said with that bright smile of hers. I wasn't sure why she'd made the statement. I was always at class. I had never once missed a day of school. My perfect attendance record was completely unmarred by anything. Unlike her twin's. Katie missed school regularly for pageants and competitions. "I was wondering if you'd want to go with me to the Spring Fling."

"What? My sister to the Spring Fling?" Katie snorted as she walked by. "And what is she going to wear: dirty cowboy boots and Wrangler jeans?"

"At least she'd be more fashionable than you, Kate," Ryanne retorted. Ryanne was one of the few at the school who couldn't stand my sister. Actually, that might be putting it a little lightly. Katie had never liked the fact that Ryanne went to school on the Reservation, since she was a pale face, after all. We'd been in the ninth grade when Katie had started the rumor about Ryanne needing to sleep with all school's administrators to get in. Ryanne hadn't really cared about it. In fact, she'd simply ignored it all; but she'd never been even _tolerant_ about my sister after that.

"About as fashionable as you, you little pale face," Katie snapped, her face contorting in rather disgusting expression.

"You need to be careful, Kate," Ryanne said, cocking her head to the side. "You're getting a little predictable in your insults. You might want to try something else like Yank or—"

"Butch? I mean, have you looked at your arms lately? Are you fighting with Jake Black for muscle size? You might win."

"Ouch, that one stung," Ryanne replied, shaking her head this time. "I have an idea, how about you go and terrorize someone who gives a rat's ass what you think? Might I recommend the girls who started dying their hair? The chemicals probably killed their brain cells and they'll be able to put up with you longer." Katie scoffed and walked away, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaving me in the back of the classroom with my lab partner. "I swear, I don't know how you shared a womb with that girl. I would've killed her."

"She was born first," I said meekly.

"So was Bella and you don't see me putting up with my sister's shit," Ryanne replied. "Anyways, I was trying to ask if you wanted to go to the Spring Fling before your sister interrupted. What do you think?"

"I really don't think that it's something that would really…I mean, I don't think that's my…That's not really my scene," I managed to stutter out.

"Mine either. At least, not in the way that your sister enjoys it," Ryanne replied. "I've gone every year though and this year, Jake—Well, see Jake got a new job and he can't go with me this year. And I was thinking that I'd really like to go and you'd probably like to go, too. It'll be fun."

"I don't have anything to wear," I argued in a quiet voice.

"Neither do I. I was planning to go shopping to find a dress. It will be fun. Please, please, _please_ say that you'll go, Kim. I really don't want to go on my own. You're the only person that I could go with that would be _fun_. If I go with anyone else, it'll just be one of the guys pitying me because Jake has to work."

"I don't know, Ryanne."

"Jake has to work. Don't I get a little pity?" she asked with a smile. "Please say that you'll go with me. I'm serious, Kim; I don't want to go on my own and that's exactly what will happen if you say no. Please, please, please, please—"  
>"If I say yes, will you stop begging?" I asked her, smiling shyly. She nodded exuberantly, beaming at me when I finally acquiesced. "You use that a lot, don't you?"<p>

"All the time," she replied triumphantly. "I was thinking of going shopping in the next couple of days. What works for you?"

You know those moments when you want someone to punch you in the face so that you won't have to be conscious for anything that's about to come? That was how shopping with Ryanne's sister Bella felt. After practically begging that she come with us, Bella Swan then spent the entire trip complaining about how long we were taking and asking when we would be finished. "Just ignored her," Ryanne kept telling, as she had been for nearly an hour now. "I hadn't thought that she would come with us. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I replied simply. "You should try on that one. It would look pretty with your dark hair," I added. After so many appointments at various dressmakers for my sister, I had learned some things. Nothing that I applied to my life, but enough that I had a slight sense of what could look nice on someone else. I looked over my shoulder, watching Bella pick through every black dress in the entire store. "You told her that this is a _Spring_ Fling, right?"

"Bella's not going to the dance," Ryanne replied. "She's been sick lately and my dad asked if I would bring her along. Let's just find our dresses and get out of here."

"This is what you get for shopping the nigh before the dance," I muttered, staring at the long line that we were, eventually, going to have to stand in. "We'll be lucky to find anything." Actually, Ryanne's build would be relatively easy to fit. I would be the one who had trouble finding a dress. My butt was too big. My breasts were too big. My shoulders were too broad. Ryanne just promised me that we would find something and set off to work finding dresses.

I lost count on how many dresses I'd tried on when I pulled the white lace dress over my head and zipped the side up. The slid fell to the middle of my thighs, the lace extending a few inches after that. A bright yellow sash was sewn in around my waist, accented the difference between the width of my shoulders and the width of my hips. It was pretty…

And far too short. People would see my legs, which was out of the question. My legs weren't something to look at. My thighs were too thick, built up from years of clinging to a saddle. My calves were the same, strengthened from posting at a working trot. "Kim, that is perfect," Ryanne said when I tentatively stepped out from the dressing room.

"Are you sure it's not too revealing?" I asked, looking down at the center point of the sweetheart neckline. It dipped down beyond my breasts, accentuating their fullness.

"You look great, Kim. You don't need to worry about a thing," she promised.

"Well, then let's find you a dress," I insisted. So, I had a dress…and now I was going to the dance. Which meant that I was going to have to get ready…in the house…with my sister…and my _mother_. "Hey Ryanne… Do you think you could help me get ready? I don't…I don't really know what I'm doing." Which wasn't true. I knew the basics. I could get myself ready if I had to, but doing it in the same house as my mother and sister would be torture. Katie would be getting ready, too. It would only turn into another competition. One that I would definitely lose.

Ryanne, Bella, and Jake drove me back to my house. I was only thankful that they didn't try to get out or come into the house. Sneaking a dress and new shoes into my room was going to be difficult enough without someone following behind me. I tucked the shoe box beneath my arm and held the garment bag with the dress aloft, not wanting it to drag on the ground. "Where have you been?" my mother asked. Barely one foot in the damn door and she'd found me already.

"I went shopping in Port Angeles with my friends, Mother. I told you about this three days ago," I said in a soft voice.

"Well, I don't remember that," she countered.

"She did tell you, Regina. It was after I finished the accounts for the new job the men are working on," my father pitched in from his spot on the couch, where he was reading the paper. "How much money did you spend, Kimberly?"

"I brought you the receipts, Dad," I breathed softly, hanging the dress in its garment bag on the coat hook and tossing my shoe box onto the staircase. I dug into my purse for the receipts that I had saved. "I'm going to change and go to the barn."

"You're not planning on going to the Spring Fling tomorrow, are you?" Katie asked as I reached for my things. "You're kidding, right? I thought you were joking about going. You're not serious."

"Ryanne Swan invited me to go with her because Jake Black has to work," I replied. "If you'll excuse me, Katie, I have to go and work my horses."

"At least we know there's always some boy that will love you, Kimmie."


	4. Chapter III

**Chapter III**

"I don't think this is a good idea," I whispered to myself. My sister had found her ground of friends and were laughing and shouting obnoxiously at one another. Everyone at the dance was wearing dresses that were similar to mine, but not a single one of them was wearing lace or white. Or yellow. "This is not a good idea," I said again. Unfortunately, the exact moment that I decided to turn around and leave the dance, to forget that I'd even tried to come out to this thing, Ryanne saw me and shouted for me.

I smiled and waved back at her, though all I wanted to do was lay down and die. My sister caught sight of the tall figure trailing after Ryanne. This could not be happening. Ryanne could not have invited Jared Littlecreek to this dance. "You look fantastic!" Ryanne said, grabbing hold of my wrist. I thought that she was going to pull me in for a hug. Much to my surprise, however, she shoved me across the small space and into the arms of Jared. "Jared, I'm going to sit for a little. You should dance with Kim."

I was going to kill her. I would have to invite her to the barn and let Apache or Navajo trample her. She was going to die. I was going to have to kill her. Jared looked after her and watched her disappear into the crowd before turning back to me. He looked down at me, dark brown lashes that almost laid flush against his cheekbones in order to see me. I had never noticed how short I was before. At least, I'd never thought of my five-foot-six frame as short, but in comparison to his six-foot-five frame, I was tiny.

My gaze traveled up his crisp linen shirt to his broad shoulders, which seemed to fit mine perfectly. I lifted my eyes to his chin, the strength of his jaw and the strong line of his nose. Finally, knowing that he was probably going to be looking anywhere else, I raised my eyes enough to see his. A hard shudder rippled down my spine and everything seemed to stop. His eyes were boring straight into mine, his thick brows dropping low over his eyes as he examined me.

His head dropped to the side and his eyes narrowed, his jaw falling slack for a brief moment. I ran a self conscious hand over my hair, worried about the way that it was lying, since I'd left my hair down for the first time in more than a year. He was acting like he'd never seen me before. There was a chance that he hadn't ever seen me before, not truly. He'd said hi to me in the hallways before, but only when I'd run into him. I had never had much interaction with him. Either that or I had something on my face or in my teeth. It was just as likely that my makeup had come out disastrous, despite Ryanne's help.

"Jared!" my sister screeched excitedly, appearing from out of no where. "It's so good to see you here. Kim, did you run into poor Jared again? She's such a klutz," she clucked. "Kimmie, I thought that you came with the little pale face."

"I did. Ryanne just…Jared—I was just saying hi," I breathed. I gently pulled my hand free of Jared's grasp, surprised when I felt the long fingers around mine clench a little bit, and walked off in the same direction that I'd seen Ryanne heading earlier. She was sitting on the empty blanket, Jake Black beside her. She was smiling up at him, so happy to see him that I could bring myself to interrupt the two of them. I licked my lips nervously and bit down on my lower lip. I barely knew anyone at this damn dance and now I was sitting here by myself…alone.

My sister was pressed closed against Jared, her arms wrapped around his neck. Jared's neck was craned back, his eyes searching the crowd and the people around him. I hadn't even said three words to the boy. I had no right to feel any kind of jealousy towards my sister as she twirled around the man. I was being ridiculous. I shook my head hard. I just needed to get out of the dance, out of the gym that had been turned into a spring picnic site. Everything would be fine when I wasn't sitting in this room again.

Ryanne and Jake walked out hand in hand, Ryanne looking briefly over her shoulder and smiling at Jared and my sister. She probably thought that it was me. That was the problem with being one of an identical set of twins. I took another sigh and went towards the school's coat closet for my own jacket. "Kim!" I heard behind me. "Kim, wait for a second. Kim!" I kept moving, fairly certain that I knew who was behind me and definitely certain that I didn't want to turn around and talk to him. He was probably going to apologize for that fact that Katie had cut into our nonexistent conversation. The last thing that I needed was to look at him. This crush was getting a little bit out of control. I should've known better than to like someone that I could absolutely never have.

"Kim, could you wait just a second?" he called. A hot hand wrapped around my arm, just above my elbow, and pulled me around. "I wanted to talk to you. Your sister got in the way." I looked down at the long fingered hand wrapped around my arm, surprised when he apologized, but didn't remove it. In fact, he slid his hand down to my fingers again. "Maybe we could go dance," he suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I have to go," I whispered. I pulled free from his grasp and started walking again, hearing my heels clack against the tile and then the concrete. I was fine, making steady pace, until I hit the grass and the stiletto heel began to sink into the grass. I paused for a moment and ripped the damned shoes off my feet.

"Wait a second, Kim. I just want to talk to you. We don't have to dance," he called. He was beside me before I was fully ready for it. His hot hand was on my shoulder, making me jump a mile in the air. "Sorry; I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just… You look beautiful, Kim," he said. The blood rushed to my cheeks as I took in his words. My feet were sinking down into the rain soaked grass, my toes nearly numb. About as numb as my brain was, because I was fairly certain that he'd just told me that he thought I looked nice. "Where…where are you headed?" he asked me then.

"I, uh…horses. I have horses and I was going to go back to the barn," I said quietly, stuttering like an idiot. "Katie's been talking about dancing with you for a few weeks. You should go and dance with her."

"I don't want to go and dance with your sister. She keeps calling you a klutz," he growled. It was nicer than some of the other names my sister was known to call me. "So," he drawled out, scuffing the dirt with his toe, "where do you keep the horses?" he asked me.

"Just at the little stables in the forest," I replied. "I'm going to go now. It was nice to talk to you, Jared." I took a step towards the forest, ignoring the fact that my car was parked in the parking lot. The walk would do me some good anyways. It would help me figure out where in my brain things had gone so seriously wrong. Every girl in high school had a crush on Jared Littlecreek. I knew that I wasn't alone there. What I couldn't explain was why it bothered me so much that he had danced, however briefly, with Katie. I was losing my mind. The cool air would do me some good. Maybe it would be so cold that my blood would run slower and my heart would stop hammering like a jackrabbit.

"Wait, Kim; don't!" he practically screamed as I stepped closer to the trees, his hand attaching to my wrist this time. "I'll, uh…I'll walk with you. The forest isn't always so safe."

"It's safe enough," I replied. "I've walked through it a million times, Jared. Go and have fun at the dance."

"What if I'd rather be walking through the forest with you?" he asked, his eyes narrowed and his head cocked to the side.

"I don't…I don't understand," I said confusedly. It all clicked in my brain instantly, the realization of what he probably wanted. "If you're wanting information about Katie, my recommendation is just to talk to her. She's usually really direct about those things."

"I don't care about your sister. I want to talk to you," he replied. "Let's go."


	5. Chapter IV

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Because of how hectic my life is, I'm going to try something new. Every Sunday night, I'll post a schedule on my profile that will tell you guys what stories will be updated on which day. That way, there's no confusion. Tonight's chapter is a little repetitive, but it has some important information. Enjoy!**

**Chapter IV: ****_Jared's Point of View_**

"Jared, I'm going to sit for a little. You should dance with Kim," Ryanne said, patting my shoulder. I jerked my head towards her, wondering what she was planning. She smiled at me, jerked her head towards Kim again, and strode away. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the girl in front of m. Kim Conwell was one of those people that everyone at school _knew_, but no one really paid attention to. Not like her sister. Everyone at school knew Katie Conwell and she made sure that everyone at school paid attention to her. I wasn't quite sure how they'd come from the same womb.

Kim in a dress was different from the Kim that I saw in the halls every day. I had never noticed that she had such a tiny waist, or that it flared to her ample hips. I had never noticed that she had a real figure. She was staring at the ground, her hands clenched in front of her. Her lips were pursed in a tight line, but, as slow as possible, she raised her head to meet my gaze.

My heart stopped beating when her dark brown eyes met mine. They were liked the darkest chocolate, flecked with gold and green. Her mouth was full and round, plump and naturally red. Her face was shaped like a heart, her cheekbones high and full. Since Jake had imprinted, I'd done nothing but think about what imprinting would be like. I had wondered what it would be like, to see some girl and realize that this was what I wanted for the rest of my life. I wondered what it would feel like to see her for the first time, to know that the Spirits had chosen some woman just for me; to make me better.

And now I knew.

I don't know if Kim realized that she stepped closer to me, but she did. Her chest was pressing against mine. My hand was still wrapped around hers, from where Ryanne had shoved her at me. Her hand fit within mine perfectly. Because she was made for me. Because she was my imprint. "Jared!" a sugary voice shrieked in my ear.

Whatever moment Kim and I had been lost within was shattered. Her spine stiffened, the light in her eyes dying as her sister came up between us. "It's so good to see you here. Kim, did you run into poor Jared again?" Kim's gaze fell back down to the floor, her cheeks reddening as her sister spoke. "She's such a klutz." I frowned at the insult to my imprint before realizing that I had no right to be offended. I didn't know Kim. I only knew _of_ her. Still, the idea that her sister thought it was okay to say such things about her. "Kimmie, I thought that you came with the little pale face." I growled at that. Ryanne was as much a part of this tribe as Jake or Quil. She belonged with us.

Kim set her shoulders back, her posture so rigid I was surprised it was possible. "I did. Ryanne just…Jared—" She looked up at me again. "I was just saying hi," she whispered, disentangling her hand from mine. I clutched my fingers around hers, but she still slipped from me. I turned around to follow her, wanting nothing more than to dance with her now. Not that I hadn't wanted to dance with her before. Shit, I was going to have to get a hold of my tongue before I spoke to her again. The last thing that I needed was to stumble over my words like some idiot.

"Where are you going?" Katie asked me, reaching forward and grasping my wrist. "Come on, let's dance."

"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks," I replied. I was trying to find Kim's white dress running through the crowd, which was making it remarkably easy for Katie to haul me out onto the dance floor. I suppose that I could have put up more of a fight, but my head was turning in every direction, searching for Kim in the midst of a crowd.

I could still smell her, still feel her hand in mine. The wolf in me was screaming, telling me to go and find her and get away from her sister. "My sister is such a dork. I'm sorry that she got in your way," Katie said. "I didn't think that you were coming," she continued, jabbering on and on about things that I could barely understand.

And then I smelled her again, the scent of sawdust and eucalyptus mingling above everyone else in the room. She was carrying a coat behind her her heels clacking against the tile as she practically sprinted from the gymnasium. "I'll talk to you later, Katie," I said, pushing away from her as I chased the girl down.

"Where are you going? Jared, you can't just leave me. We're supposed to dance together! Jared, it's what everyone expects," Katie was screaming after me, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Not when Kim was running from me. I barely knew her. I needed to fix that. "Jared!"

"Kim!" I shouted, pushing through the crowd to get to her. "Kim, wait for a second." She kept walking, her steps growing frantic. "Kim!" Someone stepped in front of me to stop me, wanting to talk about something, but I roughly push passed them. "Kim, could you wait for a second?" I demanded as I caught up to her, reaching out to grasp her arm and jerk her around. I heaved a sigh of relief. "I wanted to talk to you. Your sister got in the way." Although I wasn't sure if you could call her much of a sister. For being twins, it was evident that the two weren't all that close. In fact, Katie treated her sister like the dirt beneath her shoes. "maybe we could go dance."

That would make it clear to Katherine Conwell that I didn't want to dance with her again for the rest of the night.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I have to go," she stuttered out. She pulled from me and took off running again. I watched with some surprise as she marched to the grass, growled, stopped, and yanked the shoes from her feet. She was seriously leaving.

"Wait a second, Kim. I just want to talk to you. We don't have to dance," I said, rushing to her side and catching her shoulder. She gasped and jumped, jerking away from me. "Sorry; I'm sorry," I was quick to apologize. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just…" My gaze raked over her. Her shoulders bared to the night air, all honey and cinnamon. She was truly stunning. The yellow sash gave the dress a personal touch, something bright and bubbly. The lace and its form revealed that she was far more curvaceous than I had ever thought, that her waist was small enough, I could span it with my hands, that she was…stunning. "You look beautiful, Kim," I whispered. She blushed and looked down at the ground, avoiding my gaze at all costs. "Where—where are you headed?"

"I, uh…" Her heart raced a little faster, like talking to me flustered her. "Horses," she shouted. "I have horses and I was going to go back to the barn." I made her nervous. Why should I make her nervous? She didn't even know me. She jerked her gaze back up to mine and gave a half smile. "Katie's been talking about dancing with you for a few weeks. You should go and dance with her."

I don't want to dance with your sister. She keeps calling you a klutz," I snarled. I didn't like the idea that she was regularly insulted. The shrug that she gave told me that she was used to being called far worse names that klutz. "So, where do you keep the horses?" I demanded. Talking about her horses seemed to make her calm down a little. She seemed able to talk easier for a brief moment. "I'm going to go now. It was nice to talk to you, Jared."

"Wait, Kim; don't! I'll, uh…I'll walk with you. The forest isn't always so safe." The thought of vampires, of any of the leeches coming within an inch of my imprint made my blood run cold.

"It's safe enough. I've walked through it a million times, Jared." That certainly didn't do anything to calm my nerves. She had no idea how dangerous it was. Any one of those monsters could hurt her. Any of them could kill her. With how sweet she smelled to me, I wouldn't be surprised if they thought she was just as good. They would kill her. It wouldn't take them more than a moment.

Suddenly, I wasn't so sure I could have an imprint. I was scaring years off my life just thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

I was screwed.


	6. Chapter V

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I think we should all celebrate. For the first time in eight days, I have a magical day off! I'm not quite sure how this happened, but I'm going to go ahead and take advantage of it. So, we're moving along in our plot. I hope that you are all enjoying. Feel free to PM or review with any questions, requests, or comments. So, today's chapter is a little on the long side. Friday's chapter is going to be their day spent at the barn. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter V<strong>

I had decided that it would be safer for me to go to my car, than it would for me to walk through the forest with Jared. The punch must have been spiked, or something, because I couldn't explain my actions to save my life. My heart was thundering in my chest and, try as I might, I couldn't calm myself. I was fighting the urge to fling myself at his chest, to wrap my arms around his neck. Unexplainable and completely and utterly wrong. Jared was only looking after me because...I wasn't quite sure why.  
>"I'll walk you to your car," Jared said when I expressed my desire to drive instead. I pursed my lips together and tried to think of a way to politely decline an invitation that I would've died for a couple of days ago. Things were so much better in my head, where dreams couldn't be marred by reality; where I didn't have to remember that Jared Littlecreek was meant for someone like my sister. Not for me. But the words wouldn't come out of my mouth and, stupidly, I ended up nodding at him and starting towards my car.<p>

I felt his hand slide to my back, but it never actually touched me. It just radiated warmth through the thin fabric of my dress. I forced my shoulders back into the position that, to me felt unnatural, but that my mother called good posture, arching my back enough that he wouldn't have made contact unless he really tried. "My truck is just right here," I muttered when I saw the black exterior gleaming beneath the lights. "Thank you for walking with me. You should go back to the dance. People will be missing you, Jared," I whispered.

The glare that narrowed his eyes said that he didn't like that. "I will see you in class on Monday," I added for good measure. "Good night." I had opened the truck's door and tossed my bag onto the bench seat, but Jared was still there behind me. I could hear him, could feel the heat of him. This was so not okay. Steeling myself for the unknown, I turned around to face him. "Is there something that I can do for you, Jared? You've been more than kind enough. I'll let Ryanne know that you didn't leave me here alone."

"I'm not here for Ryanne," he replied. "I was wondering...I mean, it's all whether or not you want to, of course. I'm really screwing this up. Let's try this again," he managed to stutter out, taking a deep breath. I wasn't sure why he was having such a hard time talking to me. He had no issues talking to anyone else. I had seen the girls who had blatantly thrown themselves at him. My sister was one of them. And I'd seen him react. He had never tripped over his words before. "What are you doing this weekend?" he asked in a rush.

"Umm... I have training to do. Is there...Do you need some help with your classes?" I asked, my mind searching for a logical reason as to why he was wanting to know about my weekend plans.

"No; no. I was wondering if, you know, if you weren't busy, of course. And you don't have to or anything, but maybe you...maybe we could hang out this weekend. Together," he explained. My heart stuttered at his words. He was asking me on a date? I mean, it sure sounded like he was. I had only ever thought that he would...

"How much did she pay you?" I asked, my heart sinking to my toes as I realized what had happened.

"I beg your pardon?" A flash of indignation lit his eyes, as if I had offended him. He was a good actor, I would have to give him that. But I had gone through these kind of childish pranks with my sister and her friends before. I had learned to spot the signs. And Jared Littlecreek asking me on a date on the night of Spring Fling was every nightmare I'd ever had rolled into one.

"My sister. She put you up to this, didn't she?" I shook my head and back away from him, my butt hitting the side of the truck in my haste to escape this hell. "Look, you can just tell her that you asked me out and I said no. Or tell her I said yes, if that will make it better." I wouldn't go through this again. I had learned my lesson the last time. "Tell her that I said that I'd go out with you and I was super excited. You can make up some excuse for why we didn't go out later," I insisted. "Please."

"You think I'm doing this because your sister put me up to it?" he growled at me, his eyes pained and shocked. "Wait a damn second. Has your sister done this to you before?"

"Jared, please; just leave everything alone. Please; I'm begging you." I would've dropped down onto my knees if it would have given me what I was looking for.

"Kim, I asked if you wanted to hang out because I want to hang out with you, not because your sister asked me to," he said, his voice even more frustrated and offended than it had been earlier. "I don't care about your sister. I literally could not care less about her. I want to hang out with you. We can do whatever you want, Kim. This has nothing to do with my sister. I need you to believe that."

"Fine," I said. "If you want to hang out with me, I have stalls to clean tomorrow. You can meet me at Star Tex Stables. Deal?" I watched him cock his head to the side, as if he was trying to figure out what was going through my head. If he was at the barn, he would be on my turf. Tex wouldn't let him do anything. And if the old man wasn't enough, I knew for a fact that Martha would string to boy by his toes if she thought that he was hurting me. If this was another one of my sister's cruel pranks, best that I find out where I could protect myself.

"I'd like that," he replied. I frowned a little at that. How much had my sister given him or what had she promised him? Obviously a lot if he was willing to scoop horse manure with me. "I'll meet you at that ranch at ten."

He stood in the parking lot while I got into my car, smiling and waving. He looked like Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I could see him standing in the review mirror while I drove off and had the distinct feeling that taking him to the barn tomorrow was going to be one of the worst ideas that I had ever had.

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><p>The next morning, I took an inordinate amount of time pulling my hair back in its regular ponytail. For a brief second, I stared at the few makeup palettes that I owned, wondering if I should dab some of it onto my face. No; I couldn't. Beside the fact that it would take me forever just figure out how to make it look good, the second that one of my horses started running around an arena, I could end up with sand stuck to my face. I would look more like a mud monster than the beauty that I was hoping to portray. I did, however, put on jeans that weren't already splattered in mud and one of my favorite tank tops. Hopefully, the outfit would make me feel a little better.<p>

"Good morning, Daddy," I breathed as I walked passed the office door.

"Good morning Kimberly. Kim! Wait a second!" he called after me. I backtracked, turning and leaning against the doorjamb. It was more common to see him in his office than it was to see him anywhere else in the house. "Didn't you have a date or something yesterday?" he asked.

I smiled a little at him and shook my head. "I went to the school dance with some friends, Dad. It wasn't a date," I replied. My father flashed a guilty look on his face, but I didn't really care. My father was the person that was blissfully unaware of everything that went on in our house. He knew that my sister was a dancer and that she was pageant queen. He paid my board for my horses every month and allowed me to go shopping for grains, so I assumed that he knew that I had horses. I would hope so; he'd signed plenty of releases for me to travel cross-country with Tex and Martha. Heck, I had my own horse trailer from the time that I was twelve.

But, like I'd said, my father had never paid much attention to the things between my mother and sister and me. He chose to pretend like none of it was happening. I think it made him happier. Sometimes, happiness was the only thing that you could wish for someone. "Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked me then.

"It was fine, Daddy. I'm going to go to the barn. Do you need anything from me?" I asked politely. I had been known to bring him coffee or make breakfast, since it was too early for anyone else to be up and about. But he waved me off, muttering something about numbers on one of his clients accounts not matching up. That was my father, always absorbed in his work.

Comanche and Navajo were standing at their gates, pawing on the stall mats on the ground. They'd already been fed, since Tex fed at five in the morning. Now the monsters just wanted their exercise. Apache was looking at the two in the stalls beside him, bored out of his mind. My newest horse, two-year-old Lakota, was standing in her stall at the very end of the road. While my boys were all pawing or watching, Lakota's stall gave her more room than the others, was trotting around in circles "I'm coming, baby girl," I called, tossing the fifty-pound sack of grain on my shoulder into my tack room. "Tex, I have someone coming out today to help me clean stalls."

"Oh?" he called back.

"Yeah; his name is Jared. He'll be here at ten-ish," I replied. "He isn't getting up on a horse, though."

"Have you told Martha that you're bringing a boy out today?" Tex asked, a knowing smile on his face.

"Not yet. I'm hoping to avoid it all together," I muttered, grabbing Lakota's halter off her gate and whistling to the little filly. I stepped inside her stall and scratched at her neck while I buckled her halter over her neck. "All right, Lakota; we've got to stick together. If Jared does anything, you got to bite him, okay?" My little filly tossed her head and whinnied. "Sounds like a plan."


	7. Chapter VI

**Author's Note: To anyone who eats out, remember to tip your waitress. Especially when you spend $50 and make her get you beers every thirty seconds ****_plus_**** throwing your food across the bar like a toddler...Giving a $3 tip is just painful. Anyways, enjoy!**

**Chapter VI: Jared's Point of View**

"Excuse me!" I called from my motorcycle, looking down the concrete boardwalk. The stables was set up very nicely, at least in my opinion. The was a large arena centered between two covered boardwalks with stalls lining the sides of the concrete walk. Each stall had a name etched into the wooden placard. Names like Gunsmoke and Doc Lean and Don Juan. There was a large break about half way down. The place was beautiful and smelled of sawdust, rather than the manure I was expecting.

And there was no one in sight.

"Kim?" I called out as I walked further down the walkway. "Kim, are you here?" She wasn't like her sister. I couldn't imagine that she would have given me wrong directions just to stand me up. No; that would be something that Katie would definitely do. I didn't know much about Kim, but I knew that she was the nicer of the twins.

"Ah! You must be Jared," an old man said, coming out of one of the breaks. "My name's Tex. Kim is around on her side. I can take you—"

"I'll take him, Tex," an older woman said, stepping up alongside him and pressing her lips to his cheek. "Kim didn't tell me that she was having someone come by today. I would have remembered her mentioning a Jared coming to see her."

"Martha," Tex said, a warning evident in his voice.

"Oh, hush now, Tex. I'm sure that you have something to train or do. Actually," she said, growing excited and smacking the man's shoulder, "Kim is warming up that roan for you in the arena. I'll just let her know that you're coming in to take the roan from her."

"I didn't know that I was taking the roan from her," Tex retorted.

"Um…if I could," I interrupted, "I wouldn't mind going and watching Kim finish the training. I'm only here to help her clean out her horse stalls. I've never seen her ride," I explained. I had an inkling that seeing Kim horseback ride would be like seeing a whole different side of her. She was meek and quiet…but I couldn't imagine that kind of personality would work when sitting on top of an animal that was equal to ten of her.

"Sure thing, kid," Tex agreed readily. I smiled at him gratefully. "Kim's in the arena in the middle. There's a small set a bleachers if you want to sit on."

"I'm sure that Kim will be so excited to see you," Martha said, a broad smile on her weathered face. My shoulders shook in laughter as I started backing out of the walkway for the arena that was in the middle of the two sides.

"Hey kid!" Tex shoulder after me. "The horse she's on is pretty young. Do me a favor and don't lean on the gate. I can't afford to lose my favorite trainer."

Like I would do anything that would put Kim in harm's way. "And you would be better off going this way," Tex said, pointing behind him. "That little hallway is Kim's area. Just don't spook her horses." I nodded and walked by them.

"You did not tell me that Kim was bringing a boy around!" Martha was muttering, but her voice was clear as day in my ears. I laughed again and rounded the corner, keeping my eyes open. Tex had said that this was Kim's area.

The horses were only on my righthand side, six stalls with a break in the center, where a seventh stall would've gone. Apache and Comanche were both in their stalls. The ones labeled Navajo and Lakota were empty, the two stalls on the far side completely empty. My eyebrows furrowed as I realized, probably a little belatedly, that the names were all names of Native American tribes. Cataloguing the information, I turned away from the stalls and walked through the open archway to the arena.

Kim was sitting upright, her back straight and her shoulders back. She didn't look in pain or unnatural as she had when her sister had walked up on them. Her hands were sitting on her thighs, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail that was bouncing with the horse's gait. Her face was straight forward, her eyes cast downward to look at either the dirt or the horse, I couldn't quite tell. There was still a humility to her posture, a quietness to her features, but there was strength that hadn't been there before. She looked like she was…I couldn't even describe it.

The horse that was riding was speckled, although it was hard to fully tell. The coat was a strawberry pinkish color, nothing like the two multi-colored horses that I had seen in Kim's stalls. Truth be told, I kind of preferred the horses must have been Kim's. Not that I knew anything about horses. Kim's hair waved behind her like a black flag in the breeze. I couldn't tell if she did anything, but the horse suddenly lunged forward and started running.

Kim's entire posture changed. She leaned forward, her hands raised up off her thighs. The horse began turning in a tight circle. The horse's head bowed back towards Kim's boot until he dropped it a little. Kim must have been putting some kind of pressure on the animal, because the second her hand lowered, the equine tossed his head. Kim smiled a little to herself before her eyes narrowed and everything exploded all at one time.

The roan's head dropped, his shoulders hunching forward. I watched in horror as its back legs rose from the dirt, spraying mud and sand behind him. Kim's body lurched a little, but she held herself firmly in the saddle. "You little brat," I heard her mutter from across the arena. She lifted her left hand and jerked hard. The horse turned towards me at the same time that Kim kicked at the horse with her right leg. The horse's head turned again, his legs coming back down to the ground. "I swear, Tex, this one is going to be more trouble than he's worth," she called loudly, turning back to face me.

Her gaze fell instantly, her hands raising and gently whispering, "Whoa." The horse stopped and backed a few steps. "Jared," she breathed. "Hi; I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. Well—I did see you there, I just thought that you were someone else. Tex. I thought that you were Tex. I'll just…" she broke off, swallowing hard and nudging the horse forward. The animal's nostrils flared as he breathed and started at a walk. "This is Elvis," she said, patting the horse's neck. "He's young and fresh and—I just have to give him back to Tex. I'm sorry you'll end up having to wait," she muttered.

"I don't mind waiting," I said swiftly. I wasn't sure why she felt the need to apologize for things that weren't even her fault. "I've never seen anyone ride like that," I added when she swung down from the horse. The beast reared almost immediately. My heart surged in my chest, telling me to grab my imprint and get her away from the danger. But Kim reacted before even I could. She gripped both of leather reins in her hands and jerked, again and again and again. The horse rushed backwards, fighting to get away from Kim while she kept walking forward. When she finally stopped, both of their chest's heaved. Both stood frozen for a short time before Kim lifted her hand. The roan jerked away, worried he was still being punished. I listened to Jim croon softly to the big horse until it stepped up and nudged her palm.

"Sorry," she apologized again, the horse walking meekly behind her. "Like I said, Elvis is young. We're working on his attitude adjustment."

The only thing that flashed through my mind was that she was absolutely incredible. This was a side of Kim that I couldn't imagine existed. Learning about this woman was going to be the most interesting endeavor in my life. "You weren't afraid?" I asked, needing to be sure that she hadn't come to any real harm.

"Of Elvis? Nah," she said nonchalantly, pulling the horse up beside her so that she could stroke his neck. "He's just a young horse. If I shoved a piece of a metal in your mouth and started pulling on your face, you'd get a little pissy too," she said before her eyes went wide. "I didn't mean—"

"So, how many horses do you have?" I interrupted, not wanting to hear her apologize again. I opened the gate and held it for her. "I saw a couple of them."

"I have two geldings, a stallion, and a little filly." Her lips quirked in a smile. "And, surprisingly, my stallion is the best behaved of all of them." I smiled alongside her, though I didn't really understand what the difference was or why that was funny to her. I was just grateful to see this side of Kim. "Let me go and give Elvis back to Tex. I'll be…uh…I'll be right back."

I watched her walk down the hallways, her horse's reins gripped tight in her hands. She was strong, proud, her held high. This wasn't the Kim who walked down the halls of the high school every day. "I'll be here waiting," I replied softly.


	8. Chapter VII

**Author's Note: All right. I'm sure that you all are tired of hearing my apologies. The new schedule is up on my profile. I'm going to be posting a second chapter to this story late tonight. For those who follow ****_Unwritten_**** (which I would highly recommend everyone check out!) or ****_Beware the Frozen Heart_****, I have night shift at the bar tomorrow night. If all goes well, I'll post the chapters before I go on shift. If not, they'll be up super late. Oh, and ****_Feathers for the Sky_**** will be up late tonight (like, after midnight late). Enjoy!**

**Chapter VII**

I handed Jared a pitchfork, hoping that I could get him started on cleaning so that he would quit. He wasn't going to want to shovel manure. Mucking out stalls was more exhausting than people realized. With four horses, I shoveled, hauled, and dumped more pounds of poop than I cared to think about. People who didn't have horses likened stall cleaning to picking up their dog's poof from the backyard. Except that one pile of what my horses left was probably equivalent to everything they picked up in the entire yard; front _and_ back.

A lot of people thought that they would come, help out, clean a stall, and that would be the end of it. Unfortunately, the moment that they realized the poop they were picking up would fill a wheelbarrow in no time, they quit. Usually, they made some excuse about needing to do homework or studying or a million other things. Ultimately, they left me alone. "Did you have other horses to train?" Jared asked me, jerking me from my thoughts. His hand was too close to mine. Goosebumps raced up my arms and down my spine as I felt the closeness of him.

"Um…No; I just have stalls to clean today. That's what I do on Saturday afternoons," I explained. I cleaned stalls every single day, if I was being honest. But Saturdays were the worst. On any given Saturday, my mother or sister could decide that Katie needed a trip to the salon or the dressmakers or a million other places. I would be dragged along as a coat-stand, a match for Katie's skin tone, or just because my mother and sister felt like they needed to drive me to the point of insanity. But I had learned when I was only nine, that if I came home smelling or horse manure, sweat, and cedar shavings, my mother was far less inclined to make me go anywhere. It didn't reflect well on her daughter or herself.

Most people scrape their horse stalls every week or so. Me? I scraped every single stall, laid down barn lime over urine patches that had soaked into the dirt, and poured fresh shavings down for the horses to roll around in. And, while I was cleaning, I let the stallion into the round pen to play, the boys into any small arena that was empty. And Lakota…well, she was a little spitfire who enjoyed playing with her yoga ball for hours on end. Saturdays around Tex's were boring and slow. There were lessons in the morning or sometimes in the late afternoon, but Tex chose the smaller covered arena and round pen that he had. Martha gave the lessons, but for insurance purposes, Tex insisted that the young students were taught in a small environment where the instructor could rush to the horse and stop things before it go too far. In other words, my horses were able to run around free.

"So…how does this work? I just shovel the shi—the poop and toss it into the wheelbarrow?" Jared asked me.

"And the pee," I replied, smiling at the look of utter disgust on his face. "It clumps together because of the shavings. But…um…I actually will scrape the stalls today. So, you can just pick up the poop with the pitchfork and I'll take care of the rest," I assured him.

"And what is it that you will be doing once I've finished shoveling manure?"

"I will…uh…" I was stuttering, struggling to find the right words to come out of my mouth. He would probably never want to come around me again, the way that I was mangling my words. "I take that flat-nosed shovel over there and scrape the entire floor clean. It's actually a metal-nosed snow shovel that we use here. And then, when we get down to the dirt, I'll lay down some barn lime to absorb the smell."

"You use limes?" he asked me, stepping into an empty stall and dragging the wheelbarrow behind him.

"Barn lime. It's actually calcium carbonate. It absorbs the moisture and smell of ammonia. It's why my stalls don't smell like pee and poop the entire time," I explained. "I have to take the boys out of their stalls. Apache may be one of the most well behaved stallions that you've ever met, but even he doesn't like to stay cooped up for too long. And his brother, Comanche, won't stand for this too much longer. Um…would you—maybe you would like…you could, if you want of course—"

"I'd really like to meet them, if you wouldn't mind, Kim," he interrupted, leaning the handle against the wooden sides of Navajo's stall as I slid Apache's heavy door aside and clutched his halter in one hand. Apache was stunning, always would be. His markings and bloodlines were just one of the reasons that I was glad that he'd been so well behaved. Gelding a horse like him practically would've been a crime. Instead, the stallion seemed to understand when he was allowed to be a pain and when he was supposed to be sweet. Like this moment, when he lowered his head into his halter and then raised his head, ears erect, to stare at Jared with curious cautiousness.

"Come here," I whispered, extending a hand to Jared. I was shocked when he slid his hand into mine without hesitation, threading our fingers through each other and stepping up close behind me. Apache calmed instantaneously. He was always wary of strangers, but if I welcomed someone, he would calm down. Fighting the thundering of my heart, I pressed our joined hands against Apache's black, brown, and white hair. Exerting very little force, I separated our fingers and pressed Jared's palm against the hair. "Just, uh, stroke with the grain of the hair, I said, removing my hand from his entirely and drawing my fingers along Apache's neck.

The horse's muscles quivered in glee. Most stallions were unruly, impossible to control. The concept was similar to neutering a male dog. It just took a few of the problems out of the way. But those that were…uh…cut could be used for breeding purposes. Apache was a good horse who had never presented any issues. In other words, I saw no reason to have him cut when I'd gotten him. "I'm going to turn him out," I said, stepping away from Jared's side. He was standing too close. The feel of him so close to me was going to kill me. I was certain.

After I tossed Apache into the round pen, watching him toss his half white, half black mane so that it gleamed in the sunlight, and returned for Comanche. The gelding, a half brother to Apache, behaved exactly as I'd expected him to. He tossed his mane and pawed at the ground, obviously unhappy that he'd been left in his stall when his friends had gotten to go out and play. For all the attitude that he showed, including shoving his nose into my stomach, the moment that I unbuckled his halter, he shoved his face straight in.

"If you want to meet all of them, Navajo and Lakota are over this way," I offered. I wanted to beat myself in the head with my fist. I didn't want him close to me anymore. I needed him to be away from me before I officially lost my mind and did something crazy like kiss him.

"Why all the Native American names?" he asked me as he followed to my left, the sound of Comanche's shooed hooves clopping against the concrete while we walked. I was surprised that he didn't take off and run; I could feel the energy surging through him.

I swallowed though, before answering his question. I could explain that I was part of a family that was full-blooded Quileute, but took no pride in their heritage. I could tell him that my sister had been bleaching her hair to dye it to the lightest possible brown, to make herself look less Native. I could spill my sister's secret colored contacts that she used to make her eyes different colors, less dark than the charcoal color that was hers by nature. My family wanted to be suburban by the standards of Seattle's elite and I wanted to celebrate the person that I was and the people that had before me.

"I'm proud to be Native American," I said, trying to go with the safest answers that wouldn't reveal the depths of my isolation. "When I compete at horse shows, when people ask about my horse's names, I get to remind people that my horses are _Paints._ They are animals that our ancestors tamed and taught to trust. The Native American people seldom broke horses the way that the colonists did. The relationship between and warrior and his horse wasn't one of dominance, but trust."

As if to prove my point, Comanche stepped up close and hung his head over my shoulder, resting some of his weight on me. "And sometimes, horses are the only things in this world that you can trust," I breathed, reaching up to rub down the horse's white blaze. "Unlike people, they never lie…and they always love you."


	9. Chapter VIII

**Author's Note: As has become the norm, I am lying to you all again. I'll have a ****_Feathers for the Sky_**** chapter up tomorrow. Then on ****Wednesday****, I will do a single of ****_Chasing the Sun_**** and a double of ****_Feathers for the Sky_****. Sorry guys. Life is picking up again. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Enjoy!**

**Chapter VIII**

With the horses turned out and my embarrassment by revealing too much completed, Jared and I set to work on mucking out the horse stalls. We began in Comanche's stall, both of us with pitchforks in hand. I was as efficient as ever, having grown up cleaning the things on a daily basis. Jared seemed content to plod along, although I did notice that he was staring at me every once in a while. That didn't bode at all well. He was probably wondering just how long he could wait before dumping me off.

"What are you doing?" he asked me when I took up the shovel to begin scraping. Horses were not animals that slept for eight or nine hour shifts. They took, what humans would consider, naps. Their joints were specially designed lock out and allow the beasts to sleep. At any other time during the day, horses were moving. They walked around their stalls, pressing perfectly good shavings into the ground and flattening them into pancakes. Every once in a while, a little extra force was necessary to pry the shavings from their dirt home.

"I told you. I have to scrape the shavings from the dirt. And then I'll lay the lime down and—"

"You didn't tell me you were going to be taking such big shovelfuls. I'l do it," he said, grabbing the wooden handle from my hands. The grain scraped against my skin as he tugged, though it was mostly my fault. I was too stunned by the adamance of his protest to move, which included relaxing my fingers. "Shit, Kim," he growled, grasping my hands and pulling them into his own. There were a few splinters that had dug into my fingers, but it was nothing that surprised me. "I'm sorry. So damn sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you. Come on. Let's clean those up."

"They're just splinters, Jared. I've had far worse," I said, using what little length my nails had to grasp the edge of the splinters, sliding them from my skin and tossing them into the wheelbarrow.

"I shouldn't have grabbed that shovel like that. I wasn't thinking," he snapped, chastising himself again. I furrowed my brow in confusion. He was taking a few splinters awfully serious. They weren't anything special. Little kids got splinters every day; it made sense that a girl working in a barn would get them as well.

"Jared, I'm truly fine," I assured him. Impulsively, I rested one hand against his bicep. My palm burned hot, sending the chills through my body again. I would have jerked my hand off his skin, but was stopped when Jared laid his hand atop mine. "I muck and scrape my own stall every week. This isn't the first time that I've gotten a few splinters. I can scrape. It's not too much work. In fact, I kind of enjoy it." His brows drew together as he searched my face.

"Well, you don't have to scrape them today. I can do them," he said. Moving slower than he had earlier, he took the shovel into his hands again and scraped a straight line, clearing it of all but the packed dirt. "If I were to ask you a question or two, would you answer?" he asked me suddenly, though he didn't stop working. I picked at another pile, shaking the fork a little to let the shavings drop through the bars and toss it away.

"I suppose it would depend on the question," I allowed. Guarding every word that I said was getting tedious.

"What made you start horseback riding?" he asked. I felt myself smile at the question, remembering the first time that I had been on a horse. "Kim?"

"Sorry; you got me reminiscing. I was four when I started horseback riding. My mother had started both Katie and I in dance classes. Katie did the same thing that she always did. She succeeded. My sister was graceful and elegant while I was not," I began. "So, my mother tried to think of other things that I could do. She tried me in gymnastics, volleyball, cross country. Any sport that you could imagine until she gave up. I was on a walk one day when I found this place. I begged and pleaded until my mother finally agreed to let me take a lesson. That was the end of it. I never wanted to do anything else again." I smiled wistfully, thinking back to that day once again. "I don't remember much about that day. Like I said, I was only four. But I remember feeling like I was flying." I closed my eyes, inhaling and feeling the rush of adrenaline through my system. "I never looked back."

"You were walking around a forest when you were four-years-old?" That question was going to be a harder one to answer.

"My mother used to be a dancer," I said in a rush, dragging the wheelbarrow out of the stall, taking it up the ramp, and dumping it into the truck's bed. I grunted as I emptied it and dragged it back down. "From what I understand, she was wonderful. My father told me that watching her was like watching art be formed before your eyes. My father was an usher in one of the theaters that she performed in. They met, fell in love, got married, hand children. It was the American dream for a time. My mother even opened a dance studio, briefly. And then she had her accident." I moved into the Apache's stall, knowing that Jared would still hear me but grateful that he wouldn't see me.

"I was three, waiting for her to finish classes at her studio," I began again, picking carefully through the stall. "I was so excited. My mother had promised me a new toy, at least that was the story that I had been told. I don't remember this. She kept telling me to be careful, to wait by the car for her to come back, but that wasn't enough. I was so excited, so eager. I remember dancing, spinning, swirling and then there was a car. My mother ran out into the street to save me. The car hit her full speed and broke her femur."

I didn't hear the shovel pressing into the dirt, scraping. He was waiting for me to respond, waiting for me to continue. "She never got back to dancing." I felt the tear roll over my cheek. My mother blamed me for the loss of everything. Her studio had fallen into ruin in the time that she'd been out to heal. She had been the only teacher. Maybe things would have ended differently if she hadn't been, but it didn't matter now. Her mother lost dancing, lost the studio, lost…herself.

And found herself again in Katherine. When Katie started showing promise in dance, my mother had pounced on it. I had been forgotten, a child left in the dust. I was the reason that everything had gone to ruin. My mother acted like Katie just showed more promise than I did, and maybe she did, but I also knew that she blamed me.

"She took it hard and fell out of things for a while," I managed to get out. "I was four. No one cared where I went as long as I didn't get in trouble." The silence in the stall next door was daunting, I heard the soft sound of the shovel being tossed aside. Jared's lean, large frame filed the doorway. I looked at the ground while I struggled to calm myself down. "Kim," he breathed. My heart pounded. I hadn't intended on telling him everything that had slipped from my mouth, but the words hadn't stopped. His footsteps were soft against the cedar chips that he was walking through, his chest coming up against my back. "You know that none of that was your fault, right?" he asked. He was so much taller than me. I could feel his shoulders curling around me. "Right, Kim?"

"I was three-years-old. Do you blame a toddler for missing the toilet? You don't tell her that she…that she ruined her mother's life. She was only a toddler," I replied. It was the lines that I told anyone who knew about the accident and asked how I felt about it. Although why anyone would ask me what _I_ felt about ruining my mother's life, I wasn't sure.

"Kim," he whispered again. His fingers brushed against my arms. Everything in my brain told me to relax and let him give the comfort that he seemed so willing to offer. "None of what happened was your fault, Kim. You were three, sweetheart." I shuddered at the endearment. "We should, uh—we should probably get back to cleaning the stalls," he said, taking a gentle step away from me.

"Good Lord, what has she done to you?" I flinched at the sound of the voice. Somedays, it felt like my sister had been sent to this world to torture me.

"What are you doing here, Katie?" Jared growled.


	10. Chapter IX

**Author's Note: I know that it has been ****_forever_****. Believe me when I say that life has sucked lately. That being said, this is the chapter for tonight. I will have the new schedule posted ****_TOMORROW NIGHT_**** but I wanted to give you guys something. I'm planning two chapter updates for ****_Feathers for the Sky_****, another update on ****_Unwritten,_**** and an update for ****_Beware the Frozen Heart. _****Enjoy!**

**Chapter IX**

I was fairly certain my sister was determined to ruin my life. Jared and I had been talking, have a real conversation. And Katie just had to come and ruin it. "My mother sent me over to talk to Kimmie. I was going to leave a message with Myra—"

"Martha," I corrected.

"But when I saw that your truck was in the driveway, I thought that I would come in and say hi," Katie explained, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Her lips broader in an attractive smile. "Are you working off some tutoring from my sister? I can't believe that she's charge you anything. I could talk to her if you like," she suggested.

"I'm hear to hang out with your sister," Jared retorted, his voice growing darker as he spoke. "If you need to leave, Kim, maybe we could hang out tomorrow," he suggested, turning away from Katie completely to talk to me.

"I don't have to leave," I whispered.

"Yes you do, Kim," Katie giggled. I wanted to ram a carrot down her throat. Anything that would make her stop talking. "Mother sent me down here because Daddy has that business even this evening and we're supposed to be going as a family. Mother wanted me to remind that you that have to wear a dress. You may not have the most pleasing figure, but you could show it off so much better if you wore real clothing," she explained. Jared growled from his place beside me again, but I ignored it. There are certain things that you get used to as you grow up. My mother and sister's passing jabs about my figure were just another one of those things. "You have to look like a real girl, Kimmie."

"I don't have to be home for the next few hours. Thank you, Katie," I said, dropping my head down and grabbing the pitchfork up again. I could feel Jared looking at me, could feel him questioning my reaction to my sister. It was something that people just didn't understand. Katie was just better than I was. She had the coordination that I lacked. She had the grace that I lacked. She had the beauty that I never would. I didn't have a problem with playing second fiddle to my sister. I didn't care that I was second best in everything.

"Jared, I'm sure Kimmie doesn't need you here," my sister said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katie sauntering up to Jared's side, slipping her hand onto his forearm. I stiffened my spine and started shoveling poop again. "Maybe you and I could go and get some coffee together."

"I don't drink coffee," Jared retorted. I knew that was a lie, though. He walked into school every single morning with a coffee in his hand. "Thanks for the offer. I'm happy where I'm at."

"Well, you must be hungry. Maybe the two of us could go and get a bite to eat," she tried again. "I know a little spot just downtown in Forks that is to die for."

"Sounds like you're not getting this, Katherine," Jared snapped. I turned around, not sure I wanted to witness what was about to happen. "I don't want to eat. I don't want to get a drink. I don't want anything to do with you." Katie's eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "I'm not here because I owe your sister for tutoring. I'm not here to be a jerk. I'm here because I like your sister. I'm here because I want to hang out with her. And you are kind of interrupting that time."

Katie looked like someone had slapped her upside the head. I don't think that anyone had ever told her that they didn't want her around. My sister had a way of making everyone around her feel like she was the most important person in the room. Her ability to use people's guilt against them was legendary. It wouldn't surprise me if she guilted me into letting her be born first. "I'll just finish scraping the other stall, Kim. And then maybe we could take a break. Go get some coffee."

The suggestion was said so nonchalantly, I couldn't quite believe that he was still talking to me. In fact, for a brief second, I thought that he might have changed his mind and gone back to talking to Katie. The only other person who had asked me out had been put up to it by my sister. The Disaster of Sophomore Year… The Pearl Harbor of a teenager's life, essentially. When I turned back around, though, Jared was staring me straight in the face, smiling broadly. So, I nodded stupidly at him and turned back to clean up my own stall.

The echo of footsteps sounded behind me, telling me that Jared had moved into the other stall, that Katie had stepped aside to let him. And it alerted me to when my sister moved from the concrete walkway to my stall. "What did you do to him?" she growled at me, yanking the pitchfork from my hands. "Maybe you're not as innocent as I was thinking. You must be pretty good at something if you were able to trick Jared into cleaning horse stalls all day."

"Why can't you just leave me alone, Katie? I don't want anything to do with Jared Littlecreek," I lied. "Jared asked me last night if we could hang out. I though he was another one of your lovely sisterly pranks." I shot her a dirty look, recalling all too clearly what had happened last time. "I thought if I brought him here, he would quite before he really had to start cleaning. It's not my fault he seems to be enjoying himself." The entire conversation was hissed in a low whisper, since we were trying to make sure that Jared didn't hear us. "And it's not my fault that he doesn't want anything to do with you."

"Jared wants me; he's just hung up on you," Katie growled. The began pacing through the clean area of the horse stall, where I'd already pulled away all the urine soaked shavings and feces. "Maybe he just thinks that horses are cool. People go through that phase. I could borrow one of them. Don't you have that little pony? I could borrow her. What was her name? Cherokee or something, right?"

"Her name's Lakota. And you're not getting on her. She's not old enough to be trained yet," I grumbled, fighting the urge to toss a pile of poop onto her booted feet.

"Well, then I can just play with her or whatever it is that you do here," she said. "He probably likes you because he thinks you're quiet or whatever. I mean, you are kind of mousey. I don't know if I could be _that_ quiet. Let's face it, I have a way more appealing personality than you do." She prattled on and on for almost twenty minutes before stamping her foot. "You're not even listening. Whatever; I have a plan. I'm going home. Be home on time. Mom said to tell you that you have to shower; she won't go to a professional dinner with someone who smells like you do when you come home."

"Thank you, Katie. You can leave now," I said, though it didn't matter. She would ignore me. Fortunately, my sister had decided that she was ready to leave, that she had completed in embarrassing me. I waited until I heard her little Mustang leave the barn's driveway to go into the same stall as Jared. The hard set of his jaw said that he had heard every word that had been spoken, though I wasn't entirely sure how. We'd spoken in tones that we nearly silent. "Maybe you should get going. I don't want to have to leave in the middle of…of our hanging out." Or whatever this was.

I was staring at his profile, at the breadth of his shoulders and the tension in his muscles when I'd spoke. The moment, however, that I finished suggesting he leave, his head snapped my way. He discarded the pitchfork in his hands and glared at me, crossing his arms over his chest. "Can I ask you a questions?" he said. I was too preoccupied with the way his biceps bulged to do more than nod. "Were you not having a good time earlier? I mean, before your sister showed up."

"What?" I managed.

"I mean, I know that we were just talking, but I was having fun."

"We were cleaning horse manure," I said, laughing a little crazily.

"But we were talking. At least, we were until your sister showed up. And you shut down instantly." He was watching me with an intensity that didn't seem to fit our situation. Sure, he'd known me for years, but he'd never talked to me. At least, not as much as he had in the last two days. Why was he looking at me like I was the most important thing in this world? He stepped up to me, his chest almost touching mine. "If you want your sister to rule the rest of your life, then let her. But I think that you're stronger than that, Kim." I was more than a little surprised when he leaned down and pressed a kiss against my cheek. "I'll leave, because you asked me too. But I have a favor to ask." I barely stopped myself from muttering,_ anything_. "Come and find me at school on Monday. Please. I want to finish hanging out."

I nodded, acting stupid but not knowing another way to behave in this situation. "Good." He kissed my cheek for a second time. "I'll see you Monday morning." He started walking away, but stopped after only a few steps. "And Kim? I think you'll look beautiful no matter what you wear tonight."


	11. Chapter X

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I have a night shift at the bar tonight (which I don't always like). So, I'm going to put up this chapter and at least ****_one_**** for ****_Feathers for the Sky_****. I'll hopefully have the a second up for both stories late tonight, but it all depends on work. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter X: <strong>**_Jared Point of View_**

The fact that my imprint couldn't see the injustice of the statements that were being flung at her. Even her snippiest statement hadn't been truly mean. Telling her sister that she could leave now was the worst that she'd managed, except that it hadn't even sounded so terrible. She simply sounded like a disgruntled sister. When she'd asked me to leave, I knew nothing but frustration. I wanted to coddle this girl and let her know how beautiful she was, and she was insisting on listening to her sister.

I drove my car back to my house, phased into my wolf form, and sprinted back towards Kim's barn. I could hear her humming to herself for a few minutes, could hear the scraping sound of her pitchfork against the dirt floor of her stalls. Crouching down in the trees behind the stalls, I watched her through the open windows in the back of stalls. I would probably never understand how she could bounce back so quickly. Her sister had insulted her in every possible way, even insinuated that she was a loose woman. But here she was, smiling and humming to herself as she picked up the manure.

I was turning into one of the creepers who sat in the bushes and watched a girl clean horse stalls. It would only be creepier if I was watching her sleep. Of course, then I would have to change my name to Cullen. "Where did the boy go?" I heard Martha asking. "You didn't make him leave, did you?"

"Of course not," Kim protested. "Katie showed up."

"Oh, and he fled. Understandable. She has the effect on people," Martha retorted. I couldn't swallow the barking laugh that rumbled in my throat. At least I wasn't the only person who found Katie nauseating. "I don't understand why you won't say something to your sister. She has no right to come around here and drive us absolutely crazy. She doesn't understand anything about responsibility."

"You know how things are with my family, Martha," I heard Kim reply.

"He's not like that other boy that came around, is he?" I heard Tex ask next. Moving a little, I could see the older couple standing in entry of Apache's stall. "You just say the word, Kimmie. I've got a buckshot waiting for his ass."

"I don't _think_ that Jared is like…like him," Kim replied. "And Katie seemed pretty surprised that he was down here with me, so I don't think that she put him up to it." She continued cleaning for a few moments before turning around and glaring at the older man. "I think a _buckshot_ might be a little extreme, don't you?"

"Causes a little more damage than a .45," Tex retorted.

"Lucky for us, Washington isn't a capital punishment state," Martha said. "I have an idea. Why don't you take Mr. Navajo out for a trail ride and relax for a little while, huh? Before you have to go to that dinner with your father and the _witches_."

"They have names," Kim said. "Besides, I have to clean out these horse stalls or they'll never get done."

"Maybe, just this once, I'll have one of the boys clean out your stalls. You go and enjoy yourself, Kim," Tex agreed. "Just make sure you put all your little minions away before you leave today. Lakota still thinks that I'm the devil incarnate. Get on, girlie. Go have a little fun."

At least Kim had someone in her corner for her. I waited anxiously in the forest for Kim to come out of the barn, but I wasn't prepared for what she would look like sitting atop her horse. Her multi-colored horse plodded along the dirt path that led into the steep hills and thick forest of trees. Kim wasn't holding onto her reins at all. In fact, she was holding onto her cell phone instead, leaning over the small screen to read something or another. It didn't look to me like she was paying attention to anything, but when she came to the fork in the path, I watched her lift the reins and ease the horse to the right.

I felt stupid for following my imprint around, stalking her like she was some kind of prey. I followed on her loop before watching her return herself to the barn. She kissed and loved on each of her horses as she put each other them back into their stalls. She kissed them each in turn and patted their hides. I watched her trudge over to her truck. The vehicle was on the newer side of things, gleaming with chrome. Kim didn't strike me as the kind of person who cared about her car being perfect or brand new. In fact, I thought that she might no care all that much.

I was thankful that La Push was nestled so deeply into the forest. It made it easier to follow her truck as she drove down the swerving road back to her parents' house. In La Push, the building was practically a mansion. The driveway was rounded so that people could be dropped at the front door. I wouldn't be surprised if they had some huge, four-car-garage waiting for their vehicles around the back of the house.

_Are you seriously sitting outside of her house, watching her park her car? _Paul's voice asked in my head.

_Oh, bite me,_ I retorted.

_I'm just saying. You imprinted on her _**_yesterday._**_ The last thing that you want is to become the needy guy who is fawning over a girl that he doesn't even know. And a girl like _**_Kim?_**_ Seriously? _

I growled at the implication that my imprint wasn't good enough for me. I had been imprinted on the girl for a day, but even I knew that she was better than what Paul was making her out to be. I didn't know Kim as well as I wanted her to, but I knew that she was kind hearted and generous. I had seen it in the few times that I had actually noticed her at school. And while I didn't know her all that well, I knew that her sister was a witch. People used to joke that the movie _Mean Girls_ had been written about Katherine Conwell. She was popular, had a way of making everyone around her feel like she was the most important person in the room.

Admittedly, I had never noticed the way that Kim had been harassed by her sister. I had never really paid attention to the things that Katie said. Now, though, having stood in the same area as the two girls, I realized that Kim was constantly put down by her sister.

_What's wrong with a girl like Kim?_ I snarled, shaking myself out of my thoughts and looking at the man that had become my best friend. Paul and I had been some of the first to phase, after Sam, of course. It had been the three of us for so long. Sam was busy watching out for the other guys who would phase soon. Paul and I ran patrol…talked…became friends.

_Oh, don't get all protective on me. There's nothing _**_wrong _**_with Kim. I just…come on, man; when you thought about imprinting, didn't you imagine someone like Pamela Anderson? Kim was the last thing that you thought you would imprint on, right?_

_I never really thought about imprinting,_ I admitted. Although, Jared was right. Kim was the last person that I would have thought about imprinting on.

_You can lie to me all you'd like, Jared, but I have the unfortunate privilege of being inside your head,_ Paul chuckled. _Look, I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Kim. I'm just saying…Look, she's quiet. She's…meek. It's not that there's anything wrong with Kim. I'm sure that she's a sweet girl and everything, but I've just never noticed her before. That's all I'm saying._

_Yeah, well, you're not _**_allowed_**_ to notice her anymore. I'll kick your ass,_ I growled at her.

_I don't think that she's my type, _Paul assured me. _And you couldn't take me even if you tried, Littlecreek._

_Shut you hole, Lahote._

_Your girl's all dolled up for something. Maybe I should've noticed her before,_ Paul mused, crouching down beside me.

The dress that she was wearing wasn't something that I pictured on her. The straps were thick, hanging heavily on her shoulders. The neckline was looked like a little heart, coming to a point between her breasts. The black fabric fell to her knees, trimmed in white lace around her neck and her legs. Her skin was the color of soft caramel, strong and muscled from horseback riding, I assumed. The only thing that told me it was still Kim was the ankle boots that looked very similar to her riding boots.

I'd been right earlier. She looked beautiful with her hair piled on top of her hair and her eyes lightly dusted with makeup. Now I just had to make her see it too.


	12. Chapter XI

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I know it's been a few days. I had exams Thursday evening, then got called into work. Then it was Halloween (not the time you want to be a waitress in a bar). Then football, more football, blah blah. Anyways, there's going to be a few chapters coming your way today while I catch up. The newest schedule is up on my profile and I'm also going to post it here (or at least for this story). Also, I had someone ask me about the rest of the story, so I'll post that too.**

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><p><strong>Stories:<br>Jake's ****_The Consequences_****  
>Embry's<strong>**_ Down to Nothing_****  
>Quil's <strong>**_Feathers for the Sky  
><em>****Paul's ****_Hear No Evil_****  
>Jared's<strong>**_ Chasing the Sun _****(hopefully that's obvious)  
>Leah's <strong>**_Some Hearts, but Not Mine_****  
>Seth's<strong>**_ Falling with Style_****  
>Collin's<strong>**_ Pretending_****  
>Brady's<strong>**_ Chains Around Her Heart_**

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><p><strong><span>SCHEDULE 1102/14****  
>Sunday: NO CHAPTERS UPDATE<br>Monday: Chapters XI & XII  
>Wednesday: Chapter XIII<br>Friday: Chapter XIV**

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><p><strong>Okay, I think that's all of today's announcements. Enjoy!<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter XI<strong>

I twisted my hands nervously in the loose fabric of my skirt, staring at the back of my mother's headrest. I did not belong with my family. I did not belong in this car. My mother and father weren't speaking to each other. My sister occasionally muttered to my sister, talking softly about some upcoming competition or pageant or whatever it was. I sat there, looking out the window and praying that the car would wrap itself around a tree. "Kimberley, you weren't gone for a very long time today," my father commented as I tried to avoid resting my hair against the window. I would only end up crushing the teased volume I had spent nearly an hour trying to do.

"I didn't have much to do today, Dad," I replied, swallowing convulsively.

"She was too busy ogling Jared Littlecreek," Katie cut in, her voice called at ice.

"What were you doing with Jared Littlecreek?" my mother asked, turning around form her spot in the font seat to look at me. "Were you tutoring him or something?" Was it really so hard to believe that maybe Jared just wanted to hang out with me?

Even as the thought entered my mind, I realized how hypocritical I was being. I had thoroughly questioned Jared about his intentions towards me, about whether or not he was acting on my sister's behalf. Hadn't I also questioned why Jared would want to be around someone like me? If I could question that myself, it made sense that my family would also question it. Besides, that wasn't a judgement on me. It was a simple question. Why would the boy who was one of the most popular in school want to hang out with a little wallflower like me?

"Jared asked if he could hang out with me and I told him that I was going to be at the barn. He showed up to help me clean out stalls," I explained.

"Who's Jared Littlecreek?" my father asked. I fought back the snort in my throat and smiled down at my lap. My father was completely unaware…of everything. Katie had been pining after Jared since the middle of seventh grade. The name was common in our household, my mother and sister plotting ways for Katie to get the boy into her grasp.

"Jared is Katie's boyfriend," my mother explained in hushed tones to my father.

I started at that bit of information. Katie had never even gone on a date with Jared. I would know; my sister wasted no opportunity to tell me about her dates and how well her social life was going. Meanwhile, my life was painfully slow and relatively boring. At least, it was in her eyes. My sister had no idea how much work went in to having my horses or going to competitions. While I respected dance as the art form that it was, rodeo was completely different. My sister had weeks to practice a routine, to make sure that every move was perfect. The most unexpected part of her competitions was whether or not the judges were more about story, musicality, or technique.

I had several more things to worry about. What if one of the horses cut themselves up in the trailer? What if the noises that they heard spooked them? My sister was able to control everything but the judges. She wasn't docked points if the music wasn't working or cut off in the middle of her routine. Each competition that I went to was different, was like a new contest. My sister was judged for her abilities and those of her instructors. I was judged for my horse, the circumstances around my event, and, eventually, my abilities both as a horseman and a roper.

"Well, he's _almost _my boyfriend. I was a little surprised to see him with Kim this morning, but then I realized what he was doing," Katie said, leaning forward to place her face between the seats. "I think he wants to ask me out and was checking with Kim to make sure that I liked him, too. Maybe he was even trying to cozy up to my sister, since we're twins and everything."

_And obviously such good friends, _I thought to myself. My mother began chatting with Kate about what I should be telling Jared when he came around to talk to me again. I didn't say anything, just stared straight ahead and hoped that I would remain invisible. My father's gaze caught mine in the rearview mirror, his eyes narrowed as he looked at me. I discretely brought a hand to my hair, making sure that it was still in its proper place before I looked away from him. Every once in a while, I had the feeling that my father could see right through me.

When we arrived at the location for the dinner, the grand ballroom of some hotel in Seattle, I felt more uncomfortable than I had the entire drive out to Seattle. I had known that it was a dinner for families, but somehow I hadn't expected it to be so grand. The women were dressed about the same as my mother, but it was the girls the same age as Katie and me that shocked me the most.

When Katie had come out of her room, dressed in a long, slinky dress that hugged every curve of her body, I had thought that she was mostly overdressed. Looking at the number of dresses that were almost _exactly _like hers, I realized that I was _under_dressed. Most of the women were wearing long dresses and those who weren't had dresses that were far more form fitting than mine. The style of my dress suddenly seemed old, like something that had come out of the fifties. I looked incredibly out of place, and, as if it wasn't bad enough that I would be embarrassing myself, this was some big business dinner for my father.

"You don't look too happy to be here," my father whispered softly in my ear as I stared at the people rushing into the ballroom. Katie had already found a few girls who she knew, either from pageants or dance I wasn't entirely sure. My mother found herself to center of a circle of gossiping wives, a position she was only too happy to fill. My father, though, was standing beside me instead of rushing off to schmooze his boss. "Is everything all right, Kim?" he asked sincerely. He seldom called me by my nickname.

"I'm just fine, Dad. I just…I don't fit in here, that's all," I admitted in a soft voice. It wasn't as if I was saying something that he wasn't already aware of. I didn't belong in this family. As my mother liked to tell people, I wasn't born in a barn but I found one soon after. "Everyone just looks so glamorous and that's not something that I am." His eyes narrowed as he regarded me and then the women around him.

"Let me tell you a secret, Kim," he said, wrapped a fatherly arm around my shoulders in a rare sign of emotion. "This whole world is about being fake. That's why you don't fit in here, sweetheart. You're like sunshine and all of these women are UV tanning beds." I giggled at the comparison and smiled up at him. "These people care about impressing their friends and you don't. You care about being yourself." I was a little surprised about the astuteness of his statement. My dad spent the majority of his time at work and, what little time he spent at home, he was locked in his office. He didn't bother himself with me or my sister or even my mother really. Most of the time, I assumed he was just lost in whatever he was doing. I didn't think he really noticed anything about any of us.

"You'll do just fine, Kimberley," he said after gruffly clearing his throat. "Now, come along. There's is business to be done tonight." He held out his arm for me, allowing me to slip my hand into the bend at his elbow, and led me up the stairs of the hotel entrance into the lobby. The ballroom's tables had been set up in circles, tiny planets orbiting the square dance floor and the podium that stood in the center.

I could feel the people staring as I walked in, but tried to tell myself that it was because I was hanging on my father's arm like a frightened child. It had absolutely nothing to do with that fact that I was completely out of place and my dress made me look ridiculous. No; this was because my father was walking in. He was prominent business manager and advisor. Besides, I doubted that anyone was paying attention to me. "Oh, yeah; that's my twin sister," I heard Katie telling someone behind me. "She's a little insecure. Daddy's just trying to make her feel better."

This was going to be the longest night of my life.


	13. Chapter XII

**Author's Note: Here's the second chapter for the day. Don't forget to look at the schedule. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XII<strong>

I was ready to crawl into a hold and die of boredom. I had been instructed by my mother to mingle with the other girls, but so far all that consisted of was listening to them talk about their boyfriends. I had been roundly scolded when I'd gone to the group of boys to talk about the football games that had gone on the week before. Apparently it wasn't ladylike that I enjoyed watching sports. Now, I was sitting next to the other misfit daughters and found myself to be a misfit there.

I didn't regularly attend my father's work events, which meant that the girls who didn't fit in with my sister's group had formed their own group. Of course, there was a hierarchy there that I didn't fit in with, either. They'd formed friendships and enemies and frenemies within their own group that I wasn't really a part of. The group of gossiping girls fell silent, every girl looking up at the bodies that had just entered into the ballroom.

I recognized the four people that walked through the doorway instantly as Quil Ateara Sr., Quil Jr., John Ateara and his wife Marie. Next to the Blacks, the Atearas were the most popular family on the Quileute reservation. Billy Black didn't bother himself with much of the politics. The Ateara family didn't usually, either. In fact, I was a little surprised to see them appear. My father and a few others came up to great Quil Sr. and John. A few wives kidnapped Marie an instant later, leaving only Young Quil.

I watched him walk around the room, talk to the boys for a few seconds before coming straight towards the group of girls. He bypassed my sister, bypassed the other girls that were right beside me and sat down at my side. "How you doing?" he asked me. I felt like the girl at the dance who hadn't been asked to dance all night and was now faced with one of the more popular boys asking her to dance the final slow song.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked him in a soft voice, trying not to embarrass myself by speaking the words loud enough for anyone else to hear.

"Who else would I be talking to?" he retorted with a little smile on his lips.

"Someone you would normally talk to." I felt bad the moment that my words let my mouth. Quil had never really talked to me before, except for the few projects that we'd been forced to do together. "I'm sorry; that was rude."

"That was honest," Quil said. "To be honest, I wasn't going to come tonight, but Jared stopped by and said that you might need a little backup." I balked, a little shocked to hear that. Jared talked to me less than Quil ever had. It made no sense that Jared would go and ask one of his friends to come to a business party. "You look a little shocked."

"I just don't understand why Jared would do that," I explained in a quiet voice. "You know, I'm sure that you could find your parents and disappear before anyone even notices. You don't have to stay."

"Yeah; he thought that you might say that. Well, unfortunately for both of us, I promised Jared that I would stay for the entire thing and, to make sure that I didn't try to skip out early, I drove _with_ my parents," he explained. "We'll just have to suffer together."

By the time that dinner was served, suffering was an understatement. My family and Quil's shared one of the larger tables. Kate kept staring at Quil and I while dinner went on. The two of us didn't have much to talk about; at times it was a little awkward between the two of us. But Quil never left my side for longer than fifteen minutes. When dinner arrived, I think both Quil and I were grateful for any excuse to _not_ speak for a few moments. He delved into his steak like it was the most important thing that he'd ever eaten. I struggled to eat with the ladylike manners that my mother and sister displayed. Katie had been forced to attend "lady lessons," to learn about etiquette while I had attended private lessons to learn how to rope a cow.

When dinner and dessert were cleared away, my sister went to flirt with someone or another and weasel out a dance or two. My father went to dance with Quil's mother and his father with my mother, leaving the two of us sitting at the table alone together. "Hey, you want to dance?" Quil asked suddenly.

"I'm sorry, what?" I managed, looking at him in shock.

"I asked if you wanted to dance. Your hearing is not too good, is it?" His eyes were glittering as he looked at me, his smile wide and face alight with amusement. "We're the only two still sitting down that have the ability to use both their legs. I was just thinking that we should dance."

"I don't dance too well," I replied.

"Neither do I; we'll suffer through it together." Before I could come up with another reason for why we shouldn't get up and embarrass ourselves in front of everyone that was there, Quil already had his hand wrapped around mine and pull me to my feet.

He pulled me close enough for us to be dancing, but no nearly close enough to suggest anything improper. We twirled in silence, this somehow significantly more awkward than dancing with Jared had ever been and, at the same time, not nearly as awkward. Jared had stared at me during the brief time that we had danced. Quil was looking anywhere but at me. "Can I ask you a question?" I whispered, needing to do something, _anything, _to break the silence between the two of us.

"Sure," he replied, the hand on my lower back pulling me a little closer.

"Did Jared really ask you to come here tonight?" I asked.

"Asked…threatened me with my life if I didn't; they're kind of synonymous, don't you think?"

I smiled up at him and bent my neck back to look up at him. "Why would he ask you to do that? I mean, I'm not really anything special. And Jared isn't—I mean, he hasn't ever… I don't understand why he would ask you to come here. It's not like he's… never mind." I was making a mess of things, trying to ask why Jared, who had never shown any real care for me before, would ask one of his friends to come and watch out for me.

"If you're trying to ask why Jared is suddenly acting like you're the center of the universe, that's something you'll have to ask him," Quil said with a smile. "But, if you're willing to listen to a little unsolicited advise…" he trailed off, obviously waiting for me to nod or tell him to shove off.

"It's not exactly unsolicited. It's more like…advice to someone who doesn't really know why she needs it," I replied. From the corner of my eye, I saw Katie staring at Quil and I, an obvious question in her gaze.

"Look, I know that things with Jared seem like they're happening kind of suddenly; and if you don't give a shit about what I'm saying, I totally appreciate that. Jared's a good guy, though, and he really wants to get to know you," he said softly. The music began to slow, fading out into silence. "I don't know you, Kim; I don't know you at all. I certainly don't know you well enough to tell you what you should do here. But I know Jared," Quil smiled down at me, pulling me away from the dance floor. "Just give him a chance, Kim. I promise you won't regret it."

"My daughter Kimberley has horses," I heard behind the both of us. My parents were walking alongside another man in a suit, a little girl holding tight to her father's hand as she followed. "Kim, dear, this is Mr. Morton," my mother said. "Ken, this is my daughter Kimberley and her friend Quil Ateara, Jr."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," I said politely.

"Kim holds to state title for rodeo in the high school rodeo circuit." I fought to urge to stare at my mother in utter shock. Usually, my sister was the person that they were introducing to people. She was the perfect child. She worked in charity and civil service. My sister was a business-man-want-to-be-politician's dream. I, on the other hand, was better suited to be a farmer's daughter. "Kim, little Vanessa here wants to own a horse of her own."

The realization that I was just another pawn in my parents' schemes cut me to the core. The realization that they still weren't proud of all that I had accomplished, of being one of very few female ropers who competed on a national level. I could give lessons. I could train horses. There weren't many girls who could do the things that I could. And none of that matters to them.

At least, not until it mattered for my mother's advancement of her family.


	14. Chapter XIII

**Author's Note: Not much to say, except... REVIEW!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XIII: <strong>**_Jared's Point of View_**

Kim stepped out of her car, staggering beneath the weight of her bag. I watched her, feeling as weird as I had all damn weekend. I'd been watching her all weekend, feeling like an idiot the entire time. I was stalking her; there was no other word for what I was doing. The fact that I was doing it with the best of intentions made some difference, I suppose, but it didn't change the fact that I was embarrassed about what I was doing. It was just the only way that I knew to make sure she was safe.

"Morning," I greeted as she neared me. She started, obviously surprised. I fought to snarl burgeoning in my throat at that. She shouldn't be surprised that I wanted to talk to her. It shouldn't be a question.

"Good morning," she replied shyly, ducking her head demurely. I knew that she'd had a long weekend, that her dinner with her parents had been terrible. Quil had been pissed when I'd sent forced him to go to the dinner with his parents, but it hadn't taken him long to see why I needed him to go. Even he'd been appalled by the statements her mother and sister made about her during the dinner. From the memories I'd seen in his brain when we'd run patrol, he'd tried his damnedest to stay at her side and shield her from the comments that were being flung at her from her own sister. Now, though, it was Monday. I could keep her by my side during the breaks. The classes that we had together, I could sit alongside her. I could start making everything better for the both of us.

"How was your weekend?" I asked. This imprint thing was messing with my brain because all I could think was that I wanted her to tell me to truth. I needed her to tell me the truth, to trust me, ton confide in me.

"It was just fine, thank you," she replied. "Excuse me. I have to get to class." She tried to brush by me, looking down at her booted feet as she marched away. I reached out and grasped her gently by the arm, pulling her to a stop.

"I'll walk you to your locker. And we have our first class together," I pointed out. She glared at me, her eyes narrowing and her lips pressing together. Who knew that a girl could look cute with her jaw set at a stern angle? She looked like a puppy trying to growl.

I was a little surprised when she pushed against me, shoving me around the corner to a deserted portion of the hallway. "Why are you talking to me?" she asked, licking her lips. I had the sudden thought that she did so whenever she was nervous. "Is it to get to Katie? I'll tell you whatever it is you want to know. You don't have to pretend like you want to hang out with me or something. Just ask your questions and leave me alone."

I was taken aback by the frustration in her voice. I couldn't imagine what would have happened to her Sunday to make her so angry suddenly. I'd trailed after her all day yesterday; she'd seemed happy enough when she had gone home the night before. And then I'd needed to get back to being on patrol. "What's wrong, Kim?" I asked, choosing to ignore all the questions that she'd just thrown at me.

"What do you mean _what's wrong_?" she retorted. "You haven't said more than fifteen words to me in all the years that we've gone to school together. And I don't know what happened at the dance, but all of the sudden, you're wanting to talk to me and hang out with me. If my sister didn't put you up to it, which I know that she didn't, then you must be hanging around for some other reason. Either you want to hurt me, which is just cruel, or you think that being friends with me will get you closer to Katie. Let me just correct that assumption right now.

"I'll tell you what you want to know about my sister, but hanging around, drawing all the attention to me, and then leaving me in the dust is just mean. We only have to get through one day of school and then we're clear for spring break. So, just leave me alone, Jared; you don't need me to get closer to my sister. She already things that you're her boyfriend. Your work is halfway done." She pushed by me, the books in her bag swinging to sash into my shin. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…I should've been more careful. I—" She shook her head sadly. "Please leave me alone."

"Wait; Kim!" She just kept walking, the people closing in around her and making it impossible for me to get to her. At least, not without physically picking people up and placing them out of my way. Which didn't exactly go along with Sam's rules for keeping the Pack a secret from the rest of the world. "Kim, give me ten seconds!" I shouted as she hurried away.

"We figured out what you're doing," I heard behind before I was assaulted with the strong scent of perfume. At least Kim didn't wear that stuff. I didn't know if I could handle to chemicals burning my nose every time she walked by. "Well, _I_ figured it out. I knew there had to be a reason that you were hanging out with my sister. I just had to figure it out. If you wanted to ask me out, you should've have just asked. You didn't have to go to Kim for ideas."

"I didn't," I growled, gently pushing passed her while my eyes scanned the rest of the crowd for any sign of Kim. I just needed ten seconds to explain… How did you even explain that you were eternally bound to a girl who you hadn't given a second look at in years? She was right; I hadn't said more than ten words to her since we were kids.

"Well, what other reason would you have to hang out with Kim? I mean, she's sweet and everything, but—"

"You know, sometime you don't act like a sister at all," I snapped. I couldn't explain what had come over e, only that I was finished with to listening to Kim be treated like crap by her own sister. "Are you jealous of her or something?"

"Jealous? Of Kim?" Katie gave a laugh that sounded more like a banshee's shriek. "What do I have to be jealous of? The fact that she still eats carbs?"

"How about the fact that people actually_ like_ her?" I growled.

"Oh, please; no one even knows that she exists. As far as everyone in this school is considered, she's just Katie Conwell's sister. You didn't even care about her until a few days ago," Katie said.

"And damn if I wasn't missing out. Damn if your sister shouldn't be the one that everyone in this school knows, not you. She's way nicer than you are, that's for sure."

"Excuse me?" The incredulity in her voice knocked aside her polished veneer. She glared at me dangerously, daring me to repeat what I said.

"Your sister is way nicer than you are," I repeated. "I don't even understand how the two of you could have shared a womb, let alone a family. You're so completely different from her."

"You've been talking to her for three days," Katie sneered, her face twisted in a disgusted expression.

"Yeah; and two days is all anyone needs to say that you're a bitch." I noticed out of the corner of my eye that people were stopping around us to stare at the way that Katie had planted her hands on her hips to glare up at me.

"I am not a bitch!" she shrieked. "Just because I see the world for what it is doesn't make me a bad person. Mousy girls like my sister don't get anywhere. They end up holding the curtains for girls like me."

"Seeing the world for what it is doesn't make you a bad person, Katie. What makes you a bitch is statements like that. Mousy girls don't go anywhere? What about the high school homecoming who can't do anything with her life because she sacrificed her brain for her social life? How many times have we heard that story?" I retorted. "You're a bitch, Katie, plain and simple. You'd rather hurt your sister than admit that she's a better person that you could ever be. You keep putting her down because you're jealous of her and of the person that she is. She's a person people actually like. You're a person that people tolerate because she's popular. Kim's the person who will have friends in her life. You'll be the person who no one wants around."

No I just had to make Kim believe that.


	15. Chapter XIV

**Author's Note: I know; I know. I had a late night at work and I ended up crashing. But I'll have ****_Feathers for the Sky, Beware the Frozen Heart,_**** and ****_Unwritten _****up last night. And, maybe (just maybe), I'll have a new story up too. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XIV<strong>

"I cannot believe that he called her a bitch," I heard for the thousandth time. People had been talking all day about two things: their plans for Spring Break and some fight that had happened in the hallway. I knew nothing about the fight, but I had picked up snippets. Basically, someone had called someone else a bitch. I tried to ignore it, not really wanting to hear what going on with everyone. I only had a couple more hours to avoid Jared and escape to the barn.

My mother and sister had spent the entire drive home from dinner talking about ways to snag Jared and make sure that he was wrapped in my sister's trap. It had been frustrating to listen to, but only got worse when I was dragged into the mix. "If he's pretending to be friends with Kim to get closer to you, Katie, you might as well use it. You just have to start hanging out more with your sister," my mother explained. I tuned them out after that. I didn't want to listen to how I was going to help my sister get the guy that I'd been crushing on since elementary school.

But Sunday had only gotten worse. My sister had followed me to the barn and demanded to know what it was that I did at the barn every day. The second that I recommended that she clean out Apache's hooves, showing her what it was she would have to do, my sister screeched loud enough to send Lakota crow hopping and bucking around in the arena. Katie complained about what the horses stepped in and how she wouldn't put her fingers near horse manure. She eventually left, but not before she made sure that I knew exactly what she thought.

"Look, Kim; let's get things straight. I mean, we're sisters. The last thing that I want is for us to get into some big over a boy," she'd said. "And Jared…I mean, if he starts paying attention to you, Kimmie, you could get the wrong idea." I'd taken a deep breath and looked down at my feet. "I mean, it's common for a girl like you to get a little attention from someone like Jared and wind up thinking that he likes you." _Wind up thinking that you're worth something,_ I had reminded myself.

Katie had continued on about how girls like me weren't worth anything. I mean, she hadn't said it in so many words, only hinted at the idea that I wasn't worth anything. Eventually, she'd decided tat she was done trying to talk to me and had left the barn entirely. But her words had been stuck in my mind. I might just be some fanciful girl fooling herself into believing that the most popular boy in school saw her as worth anything. Which was why I had decided that everything would go better if Jared didn't think that he could talk to me.

"Hey, you're Kim Conwell, right? You're Katie's sister?" one of the girls from the cheer squad asked me. We had only been in the exact same classes together since elementary school. But I nodded regardless and folded my arms across my chest. "Um…is it true that you did Jared Littlecreek?"

"What!" I shouted. "What are you talking about?" I didn't see a reason to tell her that I had never had sex, that I didn't plan on having sex until I was truly in love and with the person that I wanted for the rest of my life.

"The whole school is talking about it. You did Jared and now the two of you are, like dating, or whatever. It's why he called your sister a heartless bitch," Michelle explained.

"He called her a what?"

"Are you clueless or something? Everyone is talking about it. The whole school is talking about it. Katie was talking to Jared and he just snapped. He told her that she was a heartless bitch and that you were the better sister and then he left there," Michelle was explaining. "He told everyone that they should know _you_ and not her."

"So everyone assumes that I had sex with him?" What was wrong with this world? I knew that my sister was prettier and far more popular. I also knew that I was smarter than my sister and that I had a better concept of how to be nice to people. Was it really so hard to believe that maybe Jared saw through my sister's sweet veneer and soft smile? Maybe he saw the reality of everything.

"Well, I mean…why else would he be with someone like you?"

"I'm sick and tired of that phrase," I muttered, shoving away from my desk.

"Miss Conwell, where are you going?" I heard my teacher asking me, but it didn't stop me from moving, didn't stop me from sprinting out of the classroom. He'd been getting close to me in order to get close to Katie. That was the only thing that made sense, even if he hadn't wanted me to believe it. So why in God's green earth was he calling my sister a manipulative, heartless person? I was pretty sure that I was going crazy because nothing was making any sense to me. And I, who never disobeyed any rule I knew about, had just walked out of class.

I was pretty sure that the world was spinning; at least, it felt that way. My lungs were sawing for air, but I couldn't manage to get a full breath in. I was having a panic attack…over a boy…a boy who didn't care about me…who shouldn't care about me. "Kim?" I heard his voice behind me, but I couldn't bring myself to turn around. It couldn't be Jared. He wouldn't have followed me out to the hallway. Because it wouldn't make sense for Jared to want me.

My sister was right. My mother was right. Everyone was right and I was going to be a laughingstock as soon as the school figured out what had happened. In four days, I had done the very thing that Katie had warned me against. I had allowed myself to honestly think that Jared might like me, might want to hang out with me. "Kim, is everything okay? You ran out of there kind of quick." Of course it had been one of the classes that we'd had together. He'd had to see me sprinting from the classroom. "Hey, talk to me," he implored.

His hand wrapped around my upper arm and pulled me back around to look at him. My eyes were filled with tears and I couldn't get a lungful of air. "Hey, hey; calm down," he pleaded, the hand not holding my arm began to rub up and down along my other bicep. "Everything is just fine. I don't know what you're freaking out about, but we can make it better," he assured me. Good Lord, this felt good…too good. "It's all going to be okay." Both of his arms wrapped around my waist and brought me against his chest. I told myself to pull away, to tell him that I was fine, but I found my arms wrapping around his waist and clinging to him. "It's okay, Kim. Everything is fine. We'll figure this out."

There was nothing to figure out. Jared would walk away from me. He had to; it was the only thing that would make all of this make sense again. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked me after I had been sobbing uncontrollably against his chest. Coming back to the moment, I realized one arm was wrapped around my waist while the other was stroking my hair gently. His chin was resting on the top of my head, his arms holding me closer than he should have. "It might make you feel better."

"Why are you here?" I asked him. "It doesn't make sense, Jared. Look at you and then look at me. Does it make sense to you now? You're not supposed to be hanging around with a girl like me. And you called my sister a bitch!"

"You're mad because I insulted her?" he asked me, his voice slightly incredulous. "I mean, I can apologize if you'd really like me to, Kim, but I'm not sorry. Your sister treats you like the sun of the earth. Hell, she treats everyone poorly. If people only took a few minutes, they would see that she's not the person they think she is. And if they took another second, they'd realize that you are the sweetest person in this entire school."

"You don't know that," I shouted. "You've been talking to me for two days, Jared. Two days out of the seventeen years that we've known each other. In two days, you've just magically found out everything about me? Meanwhile, I've had a crush on you for years!"

The blood rushed to my face as I realized what I said. I could pull out my own tongue if someone would let me. "Let me go!" I said, struggling against him. There was a knife in my car. I could use that to chop off my lips. Anything that would make my mouth stop moving. Just let me go and—stop staring at me like that!"

"Fine," he replied. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine.


	16. Chapter XV

**Author's Note: Happy Monday, all my lovely, lovely readers. I hope that you guys enjoyed your weekend and are feeling refreshed. If any of you are interested, my newest story ****_Magic, Mischief, and Maids_**** has been posted. It's a alternative universe story based on BBC One's series, ****_Merlin_****. The new schedule has been posted on my profile, but I'll put the updates days for this story up here. Enjoy!**

**Schedule****  
>Monday: Chapter XV<br>Wednesday: Chapter XVI  
>Friday: Chapter XVII<strong>

**As always, Sundays are now catch-up days if I fall behind on anything and cannot get caught up before that. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XV<strong>

You know those moments when every part of your brain is telling you what to do and your body refuses to listen to you? Your head knows exactly what needs to be done and, yet, your body has decided that danger and pain can go straight to hell. That was what kissing Jared was like. My mind recognized the danger of letting this moment go on, but my limbs had taken on a life of their own.

For a moment, my spine stiffened straighter than a steel poker. I was waiting for Jared to pull away, for this little farce to be over with. When he didn't, my body knew what it wanted. It had craved this man for far too long; it was prepared to suffer all the consequences for this moment. My arms wound around his neck, pulling him as close as I could without leaping upon him like a woman possessed and wrapping my legs around his waist. My brain was still struggling against the moment, telling me that I would pay dearly for every millisecond that I spent with my hands on the nape of his neck. Then the arm that was already wrapped around my waist loosened so that his palm was resting on the curve of my back, where it arched to meet my hips. The other splayed between my shoulder blades, toying with the tail of my tied-back hair. My brain effectively shut up after that.

I kissed him back, feeling the warmth of his mouth pressed against mine. His heart was thundering against the walls of his chest, matching the pounding in my own ears. It was everything a girl could dream about for her first kiss… Except for being in the hallway of the school, where everyone would soon find me. Kissing Jared Littlecreek. Who was, supposedly dating my sister.

I jerked from him, releasing my light grasp on his neck and stumbling away from him. The cool metal of the lockers was a welcome reprieve from the heat that had existed between the two of us. I stood there panting, struggling to find the words to say. How did you tell someone that you thoroughly enjoyed every moment you spent in their embrace without allowing them to think it acceptable to ever kiss you again? Hallmark didn't exactly make a greeting card for that.

Jared was breathing just as hard as I was, I noticed, but instead of looking remorseful or upset, he looked amused. A small, rakish smile played on his lips, taunting me with what I could not have. "In my defense," he said breathlessly, "you did tell me to stop staring at you." Maybe it was just me, but I didn't quite understand where that translated into _kiss me_. "You look like you think I'm going to pounce on you," he chuckled, his hands behind his back. "I'll never do anything that you don't want me to do, Kim. If you can honestly tell me that you didn't like that kiss or that you don't want me to come near you, I'll respect it."

Of course I couldn't tell him that; well, not unless I was lying to him. I was a terrible liar, though, and even a child could see right through it. There was no point. He wouldn't believe it. "Jared…" I licked my lips trying to make the words come out. "Why are you here? Why are you being so nice to me? It doesn't make any sense."

"Why doesn't it make sense?" he asked, his voice gentle and warm.

"Because boys like you don't go for girls like me!" I shouted, throwing my arms in they air in frustration. "Don't you see? Everyone else on this planet does. Do you know what people think of your yelling at Katie? They think that you and I—that we dd stuff. They think I'm some kind of slut because that's the only way that a boy like you would come around a girl like me and defend her to the popular kids." I slid down the lockers in defeat, my booted feet planted on the ground and forearms resting on my knees.

I leaned my head back against the cool metal, feeling like everything in my life was exploding. Jared paused for a few seconds before he crossed the hallway and sank down at my side. He groaned, like it hurt his joints to join me on the floor. "What exactly did you mean when you said someone like you?" he asked me, his hands clasped and dangling between his own splayed knees. I didn't want to be the one to explain the social hierarchy of high school to him. How did he not understand this already? Probably because he was at the top of the hierarchy.

"I'm not stupid, Jared. I know what I am and I know what I'm not. I'm _not_ the student that people think of when they think of high school students. I'm not popular. I'm not pretty. I'm not thin. And, no, I'm not complaining about my life. I'm not. I'm happy with the way that things are in my life. But I'm not foolish. In the world of high school, Jared, you and I are as far apart as peasants and kings. Boys like you do not talk to girls like me. You don't kiss girls like me. You kiss girls like my sister."

"You do realize how ridiculous that is, don't you? Your sister is your _twin_. You two have the same gene pool. You two have the same parents. There is literally _nothing_ that makes her different from you, nothing that makes her better than you," he said. "And, truth be told, the argument could be made that you're the better sister."

"Now who's being ridiculous?" I muttered.

"Kim, your sister isn't a nice person. If you're mad because I called her a bitch, I already told you that I would apologize. But only because I upset you in doing it. I'm not sorry that I called her a bitch. Sh is. Your sister is mean and spiteful, especially to you. She's fake, a _liar_. She gets what she wants from people by fooling them into thinking that she's their friend or that she'll be kind to them. I mean, you're her sister for Christ's sake. I've seen the way that she treats you, Kim. I've heard the things that she says to you. But you, Kim—You never do anything that could hurt someone, not even your sister."

"That doesn't make me a better person," I whispered in response, feeling his warmth against my arm. What would it feel like to lean against his arm and let him hold me like he had before? Probably glorious. To have him kiss me for real, not just to prove something to me…

"And you still defend her," he chuckled wryly. "Kim, everything that I just said is what makes you a better person. You're kind and sweet and patient. Even hearing everything that I've just said about your sister, you still defend her." He sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I'd like to say that I'm some great guy, but I know that I'm not. I know that up until Friday's dance, I never really gave you the time of day. You'll never know how sorry I am for that. You've been sitting underneath my nose this entire time and I barely even knew that you were there." He lifted one arm slowly, the muscles bulging as he hesitated. Gently, watching me for any sign of distress, he draped it around my shoulders. "I know that you don't understand what's going on. If there was a better, simpler, less terrifying way to explain things to you, Kim, I would." I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but couldn't bring myself to interrupt.

"I just need you to trust me, Kim. I know that this seems really out of the blue to you. I'm begging you to trust me. I promise you that I'm not out to hurt you or make a fool of you. I'm not doing this because your sister put me up to it or because I want to get to know her better. Truth be told, I don't care about your sister and I never will. Even before I really saw _you_, Kim, your sister was the last person that I wanted to date. Let's make a bargain, shall we?" I swallowed hard, looking up at him. "I'll make sure that whatever rumor is being spread about you is stopped if you will give me a chance. Just _one_ chance, Kim. That's all I need."

"Is a chance supposed to be synonymous with a date?" I asked him.

"Not yet; I don't want a date yet." He smiled at me softly. "I want a chance to prove to you that I'm not the ass you think I am."

"I don't think—"

"If you think that I could be put up to this by your sister, then you think that I'm an ass. I just want the chance to correct that assumption and to get to know you, Kim; the real you," he begged. "Just one chance."

I licked my lips, sure that I would regret this decision, but finally rolled my eyes and nodded. "Just friends," I added when he beamed.

"Whatever you say, Sunshine."


	17. Chapter XVI

**Author's Note: Hey guys. Here's the next chapter for you. I hope you all enjoy and review!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XVI<strong>

Spring break had finally arrived. I don't think that a break had ever been as welcome as this one. I was going to spend every moment of my break at the barn, away from my family, and safe from my sister. I dragged the sleeping bag from my closet, loaded up enough clothing to last for a week, and my travel shampoo and conditioner and soap, and practically sprinted to my car. "You better have everything washed before you come back in this house with everything smelling of manure," my mother warned as I started tossing things into the bed of my truck.

"Kim," my father called. I was a little startled, but turned around to look at him. "I want you to call every night and let us know that you're safe."

"Oh, honestly, Henry; you're being ridiculous. Kimberley spends every Spring Break at that stables. She's never been hurt before," my mother protested. "Just make sure that you're back Saturday morning. Your sister has a dance competition. We'll need all the help we can get."

"You didn't have plans for Saturday, did you, Kim?" my father asked. I whirled around, staring at him like he'd lost his mind. In all the time that my sister had been competing in dance, which was nearly a decade now, my father had never once gone against something that my mother said. I had been going to the contests since I was a little kid. He'd never really cared about it before. "I'm sure your mother and Katie could manage without you if you did."

"Manage without her? Kim is the only one who knows how to sew the elastic onto the pointe shoes if they come off," my mother retorted. At least there was somewhere that I was important to my mother and my sister.

"Regina, it's Kim's Spring Break, too," my father protested. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. This wasn't right. My parents were good people. They gave to charities, founded their own, paid for everything that I could ever need (within reason). But my mother was obsessed with my sister, with promoting Katie. I knew that my twin had the potential to become the best dancer that had ever left this reservation and maybe, if she worked hard enough, a candidate for Miss America. And my father was obsessed with his work. He had moved himself up from the poor son of a single mother to a graduate from the University of Washington with three separate degrees, not a lick of educational debt, and his own successful firm for business management and accounting. He wanted to be better, to be the best. He'd once told me that he wanted Katie and I to have everything that he had to struggle for when he'd been young.

"Actually, I was hoping to go for a trail ride on Saturday," I said, voicing my desire. "But, I can still come to the competition. I'll just leave earlier in the morning, Mother, I backtracked the moment that I saw my mother's glared landing on me.

"Well, actually, Regina, I was hoping that I could borrow Kim this Saturday." My shoulders fell a little. I wasn't being rescued so that I could live the life that I wanted to. I was being argued over...That was new.

"What do you need her for? Henry, Kim has gone to every single one of sister's dance competitions from the beginning of her career," my mother protested.

"I know, but Vanessa Morton has been bothering her father to come and see Kim's horses for days. It's a perfect opportunity," he explained. He had gone from being a caring father to a business man in less than five minutes. "Morton owns the new mall that opened in Seattle and the expansion that will be coming to Port Angeles. Getting his account would be a coup for our firm. It's important."

My mother's face softened, her upset of my father's insolence disappearing as she realized what he was plotting. "Of course, Henry. Kim, you'll be around to help your father. Maybe you could even give Vanessa a lesson. I'm sure that she would love it."

"That's a fantastic idea, Regina." My father clapped me on the shoulder like I was a boy. "Appreciate the help there, Kim," he added. "I'll see you Saturday."

My spirit was officially crushed. When we'd gone to the dinner with my father, the words that he'd said had given me some hope. He'd never really been an attentive parent, although he was always there. He came to the rodeos and shows that were closest to the Rez, even if he spent the entire time on his phone and iPad. At least he came. My mother hadn't shown up to one since she'd learned that she could write formal, notarized letters giving Tex the power to make medical decisions for me if something happened. My father came, albeit only when it was convenient for him. He still came around.

But the things that he had said walking into dinner had felt more like a dad and less like a father. I suppose that it had been foolish of me to hope the way that I had been. "I'll see you Saturday," I replied in kind, slamming the tailgate shut and heading for my the driver's seat.

It was stupid to be hurt by such things after sixteen years. My family had been this way for as long as I could remember. It was idiocy to think that my father might be changing his mind about things after more than a decade of life being this way. My sister would put my mother back on the map. My father was putting my mother back in the circle of the elite that she'd always lived in. I was just… there. I was just an accessory to their success. In a puzzle, I was the piece that was _necessary_ to complete the image, but that you had to hammer into the puzzle to make fit.

I made sure to keep both hands on the wheel as I drove, making sure the windshield wipers erased the rain. It was hard enough to see through the tears that were clouding my eyes. I was a stupid, stupid, foolish girl. I should have known better than to think that my father was sticking up for me out of fatherly concern. I should have known that there was something more to it, that he was using me for his own personal gain.

What was even stupider was the fact that there was a part of my brain that was actually _happy_. For once, I was someone my parents were interested in. Morton was important to my father. Vanessa was important to Morton. Vanessa liked horses, which made me important to my father. And foolish as it was, I was happy that I was finally getting noticed. I was happy that my father was taking some interest in what I was doing. I was happy that, for a brief second, my parents were fighting over _me_. God, I was an absolute, brainless, oaf.

A flash crossed through the road, the black streak coming way to close to my car. I screamed and slammed on my breaks, the roads slick with rain. I heard the breaks squealing as they struggled to stop the car. Finally, with a resounding thud, the car came howling to a stop. I panted for a moment or two, staring at the concrete in front of me while my brain restarted. Long, frizzy red hair glared at me. My brain was slow, but I eventually realized that I'd hit a person. A human. Oh, my mother was going to kill me and my father's insurance company was going to kill him.

"I'm so sorry," I rushed out, jerking the seatbelt free and leaping from the seat. "Are you okay? I'm sorry. I should've seen you there. Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"You are a pretty thing," she replied, her eyes the color of rubies glittering in the sun. "I can see why he started to hang around." I knew that I was giving away my curiosity, since my head was turning to the side and my eyes were beginning to narrow. "Oh, they still haven't told you." Her laughter tinkled like bells, like the ones from the church in Seattle. "That will make killing you so much more fun."

"I beg your pardon?" I stared at her in utter shock. Maybe the whiplash I was suffering from was why I had heard her say that she was going to kill me.

"I thought that they would tell you. I mean, after all, you are one of their mates. Oh well. Did you want to die here or in the car?" she asked me.

"What?" A roaring growl cut off my word. I jerked my gaze towards the sound, staring at the large, monstrous, could not possibly be real, wolves that were barreling towards us.

"Looks like our fun will have to wait for another day," the woman with the red hair said, her teeth like pearls when she smiled. "I'll see you next time."


	18. Chapter XVII

**Author's Note: I know; I'm a terrible person. Work, school, life; you know the gist I'm sure. As I've said before, I don't get paid to sit an write on my computer all day (although it's depressing to realize). I update as regularly as I can. I hope you don't mind the delays. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XVII<strong>

I was frozen, stuck in the same position as I stared after the wolves that had gone running after the woman that I had just hit with my car. A woman who had also threatened my life. Nothing was making sense. The only thing that I could do was inhale and exhale and stare at the trees that were lining the roadside. "Kim?" The voice sounded like it was coming through a tunnel. A long tunnel. "Kim? Are you okay?" Maybe I'd hit my head harder than I thought when I'd slammed on my breaks.

Warm, hot hands closed around my arms and turned me around. Jared was standing in front of me, his eyes warm and full of concern. "Hey; it's just me. You're okay," he assured me, but I wasn't sure why he was saying that. Maybe I had flinched when he'd turned me around. I must have. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" He knew who that woman was? I'd hit her with my car. Shouldn't he be asking if she was okay? It wasn't like she'd been hit by a little car. I owned a truck!

"You've got a cut on your forehead," he whispered, bending down to look at me a little closer. "I don't think it's too deep. You should be glad it's not bleeding too freely. Probably saved your life." He stepped closer, bringing me with him so that I was all the way against the body of my truck. He reached around me and grabbed one of the napkins that were sitting on my dash, pressing one of them against my forehead. "You're safe now, Kim. Okay? I promise I won't let you get hurt." I had hit someone with my car. I could pretty much care for myself.

"I'm fine," I whispered, my body starting to shake. "Wait a second, you saw her? You saw what happened, right?"

"Yeah. I saw," he assured me, running a trembling hand over my spine. "I saw everything and everything is going to be just fine. I promise."

I reached up and clutched at his shirt, wrapping the fabric around my fists. "Jared, you saw them, right? You saw the wolves? They ran after her and she just disappeared. It was like she was—I don't even know. But you _saw _them, right?" He heaved a heavy sigh, like he didn't want to answer me. "I know that I saw them. They were _huge_." Jared looked around him, not sure why he wasn't saying anything. It wasn't like the Jared that I knew. He never hesitated to tell me what was going on or correct me when he thought that I was in the wrong. "You saw them, didn't you?"

"Yes," he whispered. "I saw wolves, Kim, but I don't think they were as big as you think they were."

"They were!" I insisted.

"Kim, you were in shock. You'd just hit a vam—a person. You didn't talk for the first five minutes when I got to you. And before that, I'd been calling your name for nearly two minutes and you didn't look like you'd heard anything from me. It's like when the victim has to describe the shooter and all they can see is how big the gun was." He pulled me a little closer. "Everything is okay. They were just regular wolves. And as for how fast that woman ran away, Kim, you were standing there for a while. Maybe it was longer than you'd thought."

"Why would she run away? I hit her with my car. She could have sued me or gotten money or—"

"Maybe she's a fugitive on the run," he suggested. "She could have been a lot of things, Kim. You were just in shock. Everything is okay."

I jerked out of his hold and glared at him dangerously. "I know what I saw, Jared. She wasn't…something was wrong. Those wolves were not regular wolves."

"Kim…" He paused, like he wanted to say something important but couldn't make himself. "Look, I'm sure it was nothing. Besides, if she is someone dangerous," he growled the word, "you don't want to get mixed up with that."

The front of my car didn't look damaged, not even the smallest dent in the bumper. Maybe I hadn't hit her. I was fairly certain that I'd hit her. I'd heard the sound that her body had made when it smacked my car. "I—I'm going to get to the barn," I whispered, stepping fully away from him. "Thank you for coming to make sure that I was okay. I'm fine." I pulled myself into my car and closed the door, not giving a second thought to the fact that I had hit a human being, or that I hadn't even reported to anyone.

What was I supposed to say? Excuse me, officer, but I hit a woman with frizzy red hair. She ran away and was chased by a pack of the largest wolves ever seen. How can I prove it? Oh, well… a friend saw me hit her but there's no damage to my vehicle and he claims that the wolves were average size. And the woman sprinted off like of flash of lightning before my eyes.

The only thing that I would succeed in doing is getting my father's insurance rates raised, since I would have admitted to hitting a human. It was also likely that my mother would have me thrown into the nearest mental institution. My sister would probably use my newfound mental illness to launch her into some society or another. My mother would use me to garner sympathy among her friends. The only people who would really care would be Tex and Martha. "Kim, wait!" Jared was shouting from outside my car, but I wasn't waiting for him. Not this time.

He wanted to treat me like I was crazy, like I hadn't seen what I _knew_ I had, that was fine. I was going to find out what had really happened, what those things really wore. There was very little that I had control over in my life. I couldn't control the fact that my mother blamed me for an accident I had no way to change. I couldn't control the way that my sister hated me for things that even I didn't understand. I couldn't control my father's obsession with work and making sure that his children had everything that they needed, and then some.

But I could control my own knowledge.

I could learn what a perfectly executed triple pirouette looked like. I could learn what fabrics could be ironed and could be steamed. I could learn how to spot embezzling in my father's accounts for work. I could make myself the human encyclopedia. In this case, I couldn't make Jared believe me. But I could find out for sure who that woman was and how she had managed to run away without putting so much as a dent in my car. I could figure out why she seemed so intent on killing me when I had never met her before. And, most importantly, I could find out what those wolves were.

Despite what Jared had said, I was certain that they weren't normal Wolves. Supposedly, the warriors of the Quileute tribe had once joined souls with wolves to defeat there enemies and, eventually, save their people from the plague that was the Cold Ones. I knew the legends as if they'd been written on my heart. After all, they were a part of who I was and the people that had come before me. I knew that better than to believe that these legends were true. But I had read enough folklore from different Native American groups to know that there was always some truth rooted in the stories, though. I just had to find out what that truth was.

"That's a rather determined look on your face, Kim," Tex commented as I marched through the barn, my eyes narrowed and arms crossed over my chest. "Last time you looked like that, you broke your arm in two places and we thought your femur was going next."

"This isn't like last time. I'm not…" I shuddered, remembered the day that it had happened, remembered that _he_ had just told me everything and I'd been so hurt and angry and betrayed. Everything that I had thought was true had been a lie, one of my sister's supposed-to-be harmless pranks. I was a good rider, one that could work while she was preoccupied. I just wasn't good enough to keep myself from being bucked off a young cutting horse and trampled by the few head of cattle that I'd been using for practice.

I had trusted someone before, given myself over with little thought of the inequality in our situation. I had looked the fool before. I wouldn't allow that to happen again.

I was going to find out what happened to the redhead and where the wolves were.


	19. Chapter XVIII

**Author's Note: A couple of things to get out of the way. I'm not make excuses for the last week or more, only apologizing for the fact that everything's been frozen. I had some work things that I had to deal with. Next, I need everyone to read the note BELOW so that you know how things are going to work from now on. Finally, if you follow _Beware the Frozen Heart_ or _Unwritten, _both of them have been put on hold while I figure a few things out with them. If you are someone who reads _Unwritten,_ I would recommend going and reviewing your thoughts. I'm contemplating taking it down for a rewrite, but it just depends on what my readers think.**

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><p><strong>Hey guys! So, I generally try to keep to a schedule and update every other day for each of my stories. I have no problem doing that, but I do have a different problem. I need to see reviews in order to know what you guys are thinking. It's a little difficult to know if people are liking the story or not when I can't look at the feedback. For that reason, I'm implementing a new <em>new<em> system. **

**On each chapter, a number of reviews will be asked for at the end (never more than five, depending on that story's following). In order for the next chapter to be posted, I'm asking for that number of reviews. In other words, my lovely, beautiful, loyal readers are setting the pace. If you want the chapter the next evening, all you need to do is review. If you don't really care when it comes out, don't review. Okay? **

**I hope that you guys understand that I'm not doing this to be mean or vindictive. Rather, I'm doing this to better myself as an author and my stories, ultimately giving me the ability to write better for you all. Okay? **

**Happy Reading!**

**Without further ado, here's the next chapter of _Chasing the Sun_! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XVIII<strong>

"Where's the fire?" Tex asked me As I practically sprint down the breezeway. I needed to take the horses out and put them in round pens so they could run and I could go to the library. The good thin about having Spring Break was that I could ride horses all day, tuck myself into my cot and sleeping bag, and read every scrap of information on wolves on the Olympic Peninsula. Obviously, there were wolves here. The Olympic Wolf, a once endangered group. They were reclusive and tended to be nearly impossible to spot. But she knew for a fact that those wolves she'd seen were _not_ Olympic wolves.

"I have to run to the library for a, uh…for research for a paper that's due after break is over," I lied smoothly. I felt guilty for lying; it wasn't exactly my style. But I wasn't sure how well Tex would take it if I claimed that I'd hit a woman with my car. She'd then sprinted off to be hunted down by a group of wolves that were larger than the horses that I owned. I didn't think that would go over too well. Better to just lie.

"No rest for the weary, huh?" he asked her, chuckling. "Leave Lakota in. That little brat is more trouble than she is worth. She gets into everything when you leave her alone."

"She's young. We both know what young horses are like. But if it will make you feel better, I will leave her in her stall," I promised with a laugh. Lakota wasn't exactly happy about that. She whinnied and pawed at the ground as she realized that all of her friends were being taken away from her. "I'm coming back for you, lovely," I promised her as I shoved a carrot between the bars of her stall. She munched happily, her worries forgotten.

"I'll be back," I called, not sure whether I was talking to the horses or Tex, but at least everyone knew that I was leaving.

The library was deserted, except for the group of children that were there for the story-reading. After all, who spends their spring break in the library? Anyone who had stayed on the reservation was, more than likely, dead asleep or planning on sleeping the break away. I would be the nerd that was doing research while she should be on break. If I wasn't so determined to know what was going on, I wouldn't be here.

I walked through on near silent feet to the nonfiction section, my forefinger running over the spines of the books. _The Quileute: A Tribal History,_ popped out at me first. I yanked the book from its shelf and gathered to my chest, as I did with the next book, and the next, and the next…until my arms were ladened with so many books, I could barely carry them all. Somehow, carrying a fifty-pound sack of grain was easier than carrying the armful of books.

The lady at the checkout table, who had been dozing off prior to my arrival, looked at me through narrowed eyes when she saw the thirteen books of different shapes, sizes, and thicknesses that I laid atop her desk. "There is a due date on them, you are aware," she said in a nasally voice. "They're to be returned next week." People really stole_ books_? I nodded my acceptance of her due date and signed the little piece of paper that she handed me, stating that I would be charged price and a half for every book not returned to the library.

By the time that I had returned to the barn, Lakota had realized that the carrot was a ploy. No longer content to be in the stall, she was no pacing the small confines of her box stall, tossing her head and periodically pawing at the ground. I dropped the books onto my cot in the tack room and returned for my filly. "Looks like someone is getting a little impatient today," I admonished softly, slipping the halter up her nose and buckling it behind her ears. "What would my mother say? A lady should have nothing but the most exemplary manners," I quoted with eyes. "You're hardly displaying good manners, little lady."

In response, the filly tossed her mane and snorted, trying to pull me towards the door. Which I couldn't let her do, as it would have given her any level of control. I backed her up until her rump nearly touched the back wall. There, I made her wait until she calmed enough that I felt I could walk her out of the stall. I led her into the round corral, making her stand still before I pulled the halter from her face. She ran off, kicking and bucking like a wild thing. "She seems to be enjoying herself," a deep voice intoned from behind me.

I spun around and stared with wide eyes at the voice that had spoken, sure that I had been wrong in what I'd heard. "What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice soft in the hopes that maybe he wouldn't actually hear the rude question.

"I came to make sure that you were okay," he said softly, though his voice held more than just his words. "Your truck didn't seem to be hurt at all."

"It's like you said. I obviously didn't hit anything." I hadn't met for it to come out as a snarl, but it did.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Kim. I just…Look, there's no way that you could have hit anything. You're car is just fine. There's not even a scratch on it. You just took off in such a rush that I couldn't really talk to you. Are you okay? You weren't hurt, were you?" He rested his forearms along the top of the corral and looked at me expectantly.

"I'm fine; you didn't have to come here," I replied, resting her halter on my shoulder like a purse. Lakota had finally stopped bucking and started looking at the sand, sniffing and pawing at it curiously.

"I did, though," he countered. "I told you that I wanted to be your friend. Friends check on each other."

"You've already seen me today. You checked on me earlier, remember?" I retorted.

"Why do you have to be so defensive?" he asked, his voice rumbling in the space between us. "Is it so hard to believe that I wanted to come and see you? I mean, seriously Kim. Has your sister damaged that much in your brain?"

"My sister—"

"Is a cruel and unusual person. She refuses to see the goodness and kindness in you because she knows that you alone have the power to ruin everything she's struggled to build for her. I'm standing here because we're friends. If I don't miss my guess, Kim, no one has ever really given you the time of day. I won't make that mistake. So, I'm here because I care about you, because we're friends…and because I have a week of horseback riding lessons."

"What?" My heart frozen in my chest. I was pretty sure that he'd said he was taking a _week_ of horseback riding lessons.

"I've always wanted to try horseback riding. I didn't know this place existed until last weekend," he explained. This was so not good. I was going to have to see him every single day? "Tex gave me the price and said I should be here around one every day so you could give me some lessons."

"_I'm_ giving you lessons?" Not that I should be surprised. I gave most of the lessons to the people that came. It was just that most of them were children thirteen and under. Most of the people who showed up for lessons weren't six-foot-five with muscles that were sculpted by the gods. Not to mention a voice that sent me into quivers every time he opened his mouth. "That—that won't work. It can't work. Sorry. I have other things that I need to do this week. I'm not giving lessons this week."

"That's not what I was told," he told me, his lips quirking in a smile. "I mean, if I'll be too much trouble, I guess I can just go and talk to Tex. I'll just take my payment back."

"You already paid?" I groaned. Tex had probably already spent the money on his mortgage or on hay for the horses. "Okay. Fine. I'll give you lessons. I just need to…Um, right. Why don't you go stand by the other round pen over there? We're going to use Comanche for your lessons."

"He's not the one who was stamping his feet on the ground when you wouldn't let him out, was he?" he asked, a little wriggling fear trickling into his eyes.

"That's Apache," I corrected. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"No, no. Not afraid. Definitely not afraid," he stuttered out.

"That's good. Horses are like wolves. They sense when you're afraid," I explained. "I'll meet you over there in a couple of minutes." I watched him walk away and stuck a frozen, idiotic smile on my face. "I'll meet you over there right after I kill Tex."

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><p><strong>Author's Note Cont.: So, for example the next update will come after I receive four reviews on this story. Just to be clear, I do not update on Sundays; so the next update could potentially be Monday. Okay? Enjoy!<strong>


	20. Chapter XIX

**Author's Note: WOW! You guys are absolutely fantastic. I don't think anyone could ask for better, more loyal and supportive readers than those that I have. I am truly blessed. So, do we see how this new system works? I got the reviews, you get the chapter. Okay? All right! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XIX<strong>

"Tex!" I shouted, my voice bouncing off the walls and rattling the few horses who had been napping. "Tex, I know that you are down here, you meddling old coot." I couldn't believe that he would do this to me. He knew about everything that had happened to her, even if he pretended that he didn't. He was good at acting like he couldn't see anything, like he didn't know what was happening around him. What was more, Tex tended to subtly interfere in the lives of those he cared about. Oh, he had the best of intentions. But the best laid plans of mice and men…

"I don't know if I'm going to answer with you calling me an old coot. Who taught you that kind of language, girlie?" he demanded, stretching his joints as he rose from his rocking chair.

"You did," I said with a smile. "You told Jared Littlecreek that I would give him a week's worth of lessons?" I asked immediately. Tex had taught me to be direct with my words. He'd always said that it was important to decide if you were going to tell people what you were thinking, and, if you were, it was important to tell them _exactly_ what was on your mind. Beating around the bush only garnered people confusion. When I spoke to people like Tex or Martha, I could be myself. I could say the things that I wanted to. But when I spoke to strangers, or my family, my tongue tended to feel ten feet thick. In my head, the things that I wanted to say made sense. Out loud, I sounded like a bumbling idiot.

"You needed the money, for starters," he said, leaning back into his tack room to grab a bridle and breast collar from their respective hooks. "We both know that business has slowed down in the last year or so. I mean, Kim…Girlie, we used to have days full of lessons, from ten in the morning until six at night. Nowadays, we're lucky if we do three or four in a day." I winced, knowing that the money had started to diminish about the time that she'd taken over giving lessons. "Now, don't you go getting that look on your face. It ain't you that's causing the problem for us. It's this damned neighborhood."

I knew what he meant. When Tex had started giving lessons, officially of course, everyone had come flooding in. Whether it was the people who wanted to take lessons 'just because' or the people who were taking pride in their Native American heritage, we had plenty of people coming for lessons. But, as time went on, the kids we'd first started training had gotten old enough to decide they wanted to do something else. Some moved a way. A few wanted to go to other stables that trained English styles. But, for the most part, kids took a couple of lessons. Their parents had taken a few pictures. Then they were done. It was the rare child that stuck with it for longer than a month or two.

Tex was right. We needed Jared's lessons if Tex and Martha was going to make their mortgage payment at the end of the month. "You are lucky that I love you, old man. I can't believe that you told him _I_ would give him lessons. You could've done it," I pointed out.

"You're the person in charge of giving lessons now," he retorted. "And besides that, Kimmie dear, you like this boy."

"I—I—" The word caught in my throat, the air escaping but the sound refusing to follow. "Do not!" I shouted, giggling because I didn't know another way to lie.

"Kimberley Louise Conwell, I've known you since you were a little girl," he said, giving me that stern look. That man was practically my father. He'd certainly had more of a hand in my upbringing than my own father. My parents gave me the things that they deemed important: material things. Tex, and eventually Martha, gave me love, attention, and taught me the life lessons that every child learns. They told me not to lie, to stick up for the little person, to earn the things that were given to you, to get up more times than you fall. And, quite literally, to always get back on the horse. "You know better than to lie to me." I opened my mouth, but was forthrightly cut off. "Don't you dare lie to me by telling me you're not lying. You like that boy, Kimberley. You invited him down here, to your sanctuary. Don't you tell me that it means nothing."

"It was a way to be in control, Tex. If he was here, then he couldn't hurt me. I knew that you wouldn't let him. Never mind, Martha. I mean, I love your wife, but we both know that she die before she let someone hurt either one of us." I tried not to sound cocky, but I knew that I was the daughter that they'd never had but always wanted. They would've made great parents. Tex was leveling me with a look that said he was still waiting for the truth. "Okay, fine. I like him…a lot. But don't you understand now why I can't go and give him lessons? Tex, it's setting myself up for disaster."

"No, it's not. What's the one thing I told you men hate?" he demanded.

"Games. Guys hate games."

"So don't be playing games with him. You're not a coward, Kimberley. You're a foolish little girl who thinks nothing of the person that she is, but you are not a coward. Don't play games with this boy. You like him, tell him as much," he demanded. "Otherwise, you're just like your sister and your mother, pretending to be something that you're not."

"I already said that I would give him lessons, Tex. Don't push your luck. There are things that I can't control. Like my sister. She likes Jared. She's always liked Jared. We both know what she's like when people take things from her. I don't—I will not put myself through that pain and humiliation again, Tex. Besides, someone like me isn't the kind of person that Jared Littlecreek should be with," I breathed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and find a saddle that will fit him. Have you seen how large that boy is?"

The thought jumped to the forefront of my mind. I could easily tell Tex that I didn't have a saddle that would be large enough for Jared. Of course, Tex would then tell me that he had a saddle that would fit and the entire plan would be back on. It was better for me to just suck it up and get this lesson over with. It would only be an hour and a half, two if Jared insisted on staying while I washed our horses down. I would survive two hours…alone…with Jared Littlecreek…alone.

Bad. This was bad. Very, very bad.

I stopped by the tack room to grab the saddle and saddle pad. I pinched the pad between my side and bicep and hooked the saddle by the gullet to carry the two to where I'd sent Jared. I stopped where the final stalls met the open pavement, ten feet from the corral where Comanche was.

The paint's large rump was pressed against the piping, leaning against Jared's scratches on his neck. "All right, dude; let's make a deal," Jared said in a quiet voice. Unlike Apache, who was tri-colored, Comanche was only two colors. His face was mostly a burnished red, gold with a large white blaze running up his face. The barrel of his body was mostly white, while his back, legs, and tail were that same auburn coloring with spots of white intermixed. He was the sweetest of all my horses, the one that would let a child crawl beneath him and between his legs; the one that would let man or child alike kick at his sides without responding overmuch. He was a good lesson horse.

"I will listen to everything that Kimberley tells me to do and _you _will make sure that I stay on your back, okay?" he asked, scratching underneath Comanche's flaxen mane. The horse whinnied deep in his throat and took to bobbing his head, as Jared wasn't moving swiftly enough. "I'm going to take that as a yes," he agreed, reaching over the top pipe and gently patting the horse's neck.

I cleared my throat behind him, amused that this tall, broad, and well muscled man was trying to make a deal with my horse. "You should've told me that we needed these. I would have come and gotten them from you." My skin burned where his fingers grazed mine as he hefted the saddle to his hand. "You were carrying this with _one hand_?" he asked, shock obvious in his voice.

"It's one of my lighter saddles," I said, looking at the trail saddle. They were designed for comfort, for long distances and ease. Therefore, they weren't all that heavy. My roping saddle, which was designed to stop _cows_ in full sprint, that one was heavy. "Toss the saddle over the corral. Then we'll go catch him."

"_Catch_ him? He's not wild, right?" he asked, panic setting in on his features.

"It's just what it's called," I said, fighting back laughter. Jared was afraid…of animals that I rode on a daily basis. He stepped up behind me to grip the halter, his body heat coming closer and causing shivers to pucker on my shoulders. He smelled so good…like the forest after rain.

This was bad. Very, very, _very_ bad.

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><p><strong>Author's Note Cont.: So, the next chapter will be posted after I've received FIVE REVIEWS. <strong>


	21. Chapter XX

**Author's Note: I know there was supposed to be a chapter up yesterday. Sorry. To make up for it, I give you guys a little extra length on today. Enjoy! ****Chapter XX: ****_Jared's Point of View_**

Kim was standing in front of me, a bemused look on her face. She was holding the halter thing on her shoulder and staring at me. "He only bites when he's hungry. And he's already been fed today," she said, her voice soft and hesitant…and full of laughter. She was _laughing_ at me. I wasn't sure how to respond, though. She was very quiet and was looking at me cautiously, like she was afraid that I would be offended by her comment. Normally, I couldn't stand being made of a mockery of. In fact, it was one of the things that could easily make me lose my temper. But at this moment, with this girl, I loved it. I liked that she was teasing me. I loved that she was opening up, just the smallest bit.

I watched her lift the latch on the gate and shove Comanche out of the way, waiting for me to follow her. "I'll show you how to halter him and then, you'll uh…you'll go ahead and do it," she said, stiffening her spine and looking straight ahead. I could see her warring with herself, trying to figure out the best way to approach things. I wasn't sure what to feel about the fact that she was clearly uncomfortable with me around. A part of my brain was glad that she felt _something_, glad that she wasn't treating me like another person who was paying for lessons. Another part of me what tired of this game, tired of waiting for her to realize that I wasn't going anywhere.

It was that part of my brain that was screaming at me to tell her the truth, begging me to explain the legends and wolves and everything that went along with them. It would make everything clearer to her. She would know what I was and what _she_ was to me. She would know that no matter what was brought to us, she would always be one of the most important things in this world. If she didn't run first. When I'd seen that redheaded parasite standing in front of her, I hadn't been able to think of anything else but getting to her, but holding her close and making sure that she was okay. Unlike Jake, whose desire was to kill anything that harmed his imprint, I just wanted to hold mine and assure myself that she was still safe.

If she knew what I had done to all the vampires that had come around her…what I'd thought about doing to the redhead that had crossed her path…Kim would never speak to me again, let alone see me. She was a gentle soul. A kinder person didn't exist in this world. Kim wouldn't understand that wolves didn't kill _people_. We killed monsters. Those things may look human, but they weren't. They were hellbent on death and blood.

And even if I could get Kim to understand, how could I possibly bring her into this world? The life that I was living was fraught with danger and full of death. Kim was so innocent, so pure and, when she wasn't around her family, so bright. I couldn't bring myself to ruin her happiness and innocence. I couldn't bring darkness into her sunshine personality. No; I couldn't do that to her. "Jared?" I jerked my head upright to look at her. "You didn't see a single thing I did, did you?" she asked, Comanche now haltered and his lead hanging loosely from her hands. How long had she been talking?

"Sorry, I uh… No, yeah I was listening. I saw what you did. Got it," I lied.

"Good," she replied, undoing the brass buckle and dropping the halter from the horse's face. "Your turn."

"My turn?" I stammered out. Shit. She already had him haltered. Why did I have to do it? "I, uh…Didn't you just put that halter on him?"

"Yes, but you have to learn. Remember? I said I'd show you how to do it once and then you'd do it. Here," she extended her hand to me with a small smile playing at her lips. "Go ahead."

I tried to recall what she'd been doing while I'd been thinking about wolves and the problems that Kim knowing would bring. Lucky for me, the moment that I held the parts in my hands, Comanche shoved his nose in the opening and kept his neck bowed, waiting for me to finish with what I was doing. I lifted the longer of the two flaps over his neck, in front of his ears. Comanche tossed his head a little and shoved his face deeper into the nylon. "We had a deal," I hissed at the animal.

"Behind his ears," Kim whispered, swallowing giggles.

"Right," I muttered, fixing it so that the halter was sitting correctly. Comanche gave me a look that clearly called me an idiot. The horse was nothing but patient, didn't stamp his feet, didn't start walking away. But he definitely thought I was dumb. I could see it on his face.

"Take hold of his lead rope about four inches beneath the clasp and then hold the rest of the rope in your left hand. Go ahead and lead him to that post over there," she explained, something more decisive glimmering in her eyes.

I quickly discovered that Kim was very direct in her commands, but infinitely patient when I did something wrong. With the ease of a practiced ranched hand and the grace of a princess, my imprint showed me how to properly lay a saddle pad and position a saddle. I was a little surprised by the strength Kim possessed. While the saddle that she had given me wasn't all that heavy to me, it easily weighed thirty-five, if not forty, pounds. And Kim was tossing it around and carrying it with one had, as if she did it every day.

Which I supposed that she did. "Okay well… I'm going to bridle him for you today so that we can get you riding. Tomorrow, we'll be able to tack up faster and you'll be able to bridle him yourself. For today, I think we've filled your brain with enough tack information for the day," she said, smiling easily at me. She did as she said she would and handed me the reins. She gave me a couple more rules. Always check your cinch before you mount. Make sure you horse is standing square before you get up. Left foot in stirrup. Straight leg over horse's rump.

Maybe this wasn't going to be as simple as I'd thought it would.

"Give him a little nudge with your heels," she said. "Keep your elbows in at your wait and your hands parallel." She put her own hands put to show me what it was she wanted me to do. "Keep your heels down and brace the balls of your feet in the stirrups." She continued on and on, crawling up the piping to sit down on the top of the corral, resting her elbows on her knees. She corrected me little more as I rode, feeling the power of the animal beneath me.

"Okay, I'm going to leave you here for a second. I'll go grab Navajo saddle him. But I'll still be able to hear you, so if you need me, just give me a shout." I must have been staring at her because she frowned a little. "Are you going to be okay? Just stay at a walk."

"I'll be fine," I assured her, watching her hips sway as she walked away from me. It had taken some thirty minutes for us to get a saddle on my horse, but Kim had Navajo cleaned and saddled in less than ten minutes. She led the animal into the center of the arena I was walking circles in, mounted, and took off. Her hair was flailing behind her, the ponytail bobbing with each step the animal took. Navajo's hooves thundered as he galloped, spraying dirt behind him. Beneath me, I felt Comanche tightening his muscles, begging to run a little. Of course, he didn't move at any faster of a pace.

"Whoa," Kim said clearly a few minutes later. "That's our goal for today. You're going to do that," she said. Her eyes closed softly, as if she was reliving running before. "And then we're going to go for a trail ride. Okay?" I nodded, though my heart pounded with fear. I couldn't be seriously hurt by anything that this animal could do.

But I could fail.

I was doing all of this so that Kim would see how much I wanted to be around her. If I messed this up, couldn't do this for her… That was what I was afraid of. I couldn't look like a fool in front of her when I had so much to prove.

Our lesson went on for a while. I moved from a slow walk to a trot. She made me do figure eights, made me stop. Made me back up. I couldn't believe the amount of muscle that was required to keep myself in the saddle. I'd always thought that people just sat there, let their feet dangle over the sides. I could run for miles, but my thighs were burning when Kim asked me to "post" a few rounds. "You ready to lope?" she asked me nearly an hour later.

My brain raced for the worst case scenario. The only bad thing that could really happen would be me ending up in the dirt, on my back and embarrassed. Of course Kim, being the kind hearted person that she is, would then leap off her horse, and come and make sure that I was okay. Being embarrassed wouldn't really be that bad…

I nodded and looked over at her. "All right. Go ahead and point Comanche's head and shoulder towards the wall a little bit," she said, putting Navajo in the position she was wanting. "You're going to press the heel of your outside leg into his side and he's going to jump out. Put your weight back and keep your ass in the saddle," she explained.

"That it? Keep your ass in the saddle?" I demanded, staring at her like she'd lost her mind. I didn't pause to think of the fact Kim had just cursed. I hadn't every imagined her little mouth saying a word like that.

"You'll be fine. I promise. Comanche has the easiest seat in the world. Besides, I can correct you once you get going but I can't really find the rhythm for you. That's on you." She smiled at me again. "Go on. I won't let you get hurt." _She _wouldn't let _me_ get hurt? Seriously? This was so backwards, it was almost hysterical. "Go," she prompted again.

I did as she asked, pressing my heel into the horse's side. It didn't take more than a little weight for Comanche to realize what was expected of him. He leapt forward, tossing his mane in a show of spirit and running. "Easy," Kim called. "Elbows in. Heels down. Hands up. You don't have to lean so far back. There you go." I could see the appeal of this now. It was like running in my wolf form. It was freedom. Pure, unbridled freedom. The closest thing to flying that I could ever imagine.

Kim had stopped talking, coming up alongside me at the same speed, a smile of pure bliss on her face. She clucked to her horse and sped passed me. My heart stuttered with fear as she hooked her reins on the, uh…I was pretty sure she'd called it the horn of her saddle. Her arms stretched out on either side of her, leaning back to enjoy her freedom for a minute.

This was the Kim that I wanted to know, the Kim that she truly was. This woman, sitting on top of that horse, was every inch a Quileute warrior princess. This person was confident, sure of her abilities. This was the girl that she would have been if Katie hadn't been born. If she wasn't constantly living in her sister's shadow, if her parents had given her the attention that she deserved. There was so many ifs. If I could just figure out how to bring this side of her to the rest of her life…

"Pay attention," she chastised. "Comanche's slowing down. Don't let him stop until you're ready. Cluck at him," she instructed. "Tap him with your heels." I did as she asked, surprised that the horse responded immediately and began going fast and faster. "When you're ready, brace your weight in the balls of your feet, raise your hands up to your chest, lean back and say, 'Whoa.'"

"Whoa." The horse came to a screeching halt, digging his hind feet into the dirt as she stopped.

Kim walked her horse up alongside mine. Seven lessons was more money than I had ever paid for anything in my entire life, but it was worth it. Especially since this was the Kim that I was going to see. "What did you think?" she whispered. She quickly fell from the confident teacher I'd been working with for the last hour to the shy girl who'd I'd always gone to school with. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, whether she _knew_ about it or not, my imprinting was affecting her. She was as drawn to me as I was to her.

My brain told me to stop, told me not to do what I was about to do. Maybe it was the horses, maybe it was the feeling of freedom. Maybe it was just the way that Kim was acting. But I couldn't stop myself. I reached over, sliding my fingers over her cheek to the nape of her neck. "Jared," she breathed, her voice worried and hesitant. "I don't think—"

"Stop thinking," I pleaded, leaning my weight into the stirrup, feeling her soft breath against my cheek as she unconsciously leaned forward as well. I savored the soft smell of her, the wisps of hair that caressed my fingers, the soft breath that passed through her lips that I inhaled as my lips met hers for the first time in far too long.

**Author's Note Cont.: Five reviews and you'll have your Thanksgiving chapter (Eight and it may just be a double...) ****Enjoy!**


	22. Chapter XXI

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews. As promised, there will be a double update tonight. My review number for the night will be on the end of the next chapter, but ****_please_**** review on this one as well. Enjoy!**

**Chapter XXI: ****_Jared's Point of View_**

I had a brief moment of panic when Kim didn't respond, her mouth frozen beneath mine. The feel of her silky hair beneath my fingers caused them to curl around the strands, but I was screaming at myself to lift my mouth from hers when everything changed. I felt Kim lean farther into my palm and her mouth thaw out beneath mine. Her hand clenched around the fabric of my shirt as she pressed herself into my chest, her reins lying completely forgotten on the horn of her saddle.

This was different from the last time that we'd kissed. Not just because I'd lost control of myself and tossed control out the window, but because of Kim. This barn seemed to be the key to finding this woman. She was kissing me back, bolding leaning against me and holding me tight like she would never let me go again. Not that I was in a hurry to escape this embrace. The horses stood still, quiet and waiting for our next instructions, letting us enjoy the moment. "Kim?" a gravelly feminine voice called.

The woman in question jerked herself away from me, grabbed her reins, and backed her horse a respectable distance. I, for one, spared a moment of thanks that it wasn't her _sister_ interrupting us this time. It seemed like every chance Katie had was used to interrupt the limited time that I had with my imprint. And she always seemed to find us at a moment when I could feel Kim hanging, being more herself than she'd bee before. No wonder Jake was always plotting to steal Ryanne away, even for just a moment. It seemed like the whole world knew that I wanted time with Kim and was determined that we wouldn't have it.

"I'm about to head out, Martha. Got a lesson," Kim called back. Her cheeks were flushed a deep rose, her lips having darkened to a rusty red, moist and soft. My brain jumped to our upcoming trail ride. Just the two of us…alone in the forest with just the horses. That would be my chance to really talk to her. I was beginning to see that Kim didn't have a problem answering questions directly. She just didn't offer up any information willingly. Whatever I wanted to know, I had to ask her about.

"You're giving a less—Jared!" Martha, at least I was pretty sure that was her name, exclaimed when she caught sight of Kim and I sitting side by side. "What a lovely surprise. Kim didn't mention that you were coming to visit today."

"Because Kim didn't know," Kim replied from her spot, a smile on her lips. "Martha, we're going out for You're welcome to join us," she suggested. Why? _Why_? Kim had to be _that_ nice, didn't she? She had to ask if Martha wanted to join us. With my luck, the older woman would—

"Kimberley Louise, you know I'm never going out on those trails again. Done it once. Never going to again," Martha said. My heart stuttered. Kim had _known_ that Martha would say no. "Off, the both of you. Go and enjoy your trail ride, you two." She waved the both of us off, pulling the latch up and back to open the gate for the two of us. I nudged the horse with my heels and walking Comanche forward. Kim came up to my side and pointed at the opening of the path. It was a path that I crossed on a daily basis, but had never actually known what it was used for.

The forest ensconced the two of us, the canopy of trees overhead with streams of sunlight puncturing through the leaves. "Why didn't you just come and ask me if you could take lessons?" she asked me, turning to look at me. "At least then I could've known you were coming."

"I didn't think that you would tell me yes," I replied in a soft voice. "I was worried that you would freak out a little, which is exactly what you did when you saw me, I'd like to point out."

"I had a little bit of an eventful morning," she said, her eyes narrowed and glaring at me. Clearly I wasn't forgiven for the things I'd said when she'd been attacked by the redhead. I sighed heavily and shifted my reins to one hand, like she'd taught me during the lesson and reached out. "I don't want to talk to about it," she said.

"But Kim—"

"Why did you decide to take lessons?" she interrupted. "I mean, you're almost eighteen years old. most eighteen-year-olds don't just randomly decide to take up horseback riding." They do when horses are the only thing that seem to bring their imprints any amount of joy. They do when their imprints are only themselves when they're in a barn.

"Do you want an honest answer?"

"Honesty is always the best," she said. "It may not be the exact thing that you want to hear, but I'd rather be told something that's true than a lie that is said to make me feel better."

"I paid to take lessons from you for a week because I wanted a week of your undivided attention," I admitted. She balked, her eyes narrowing with disbelief. "I did it because horses are important to you."

"You said that we were friends." The path that we were on wound around the the forest, nearing the cliffs that we dove off of. But Kim had halted Navajo and was staring at me with fear in her eyes. "What does it matter what's important to me?"

"Well, I mean…Clearly, horses are important to you and they're a big part of your life. It's a chance for me to get to know you. You know, as friends," I explained. Tears filled her eyes and she swallowed convulsively. Something was very, very wrong. And it happened every time that I mentioned wanting to be around her, or wanting to be her friend.

"Friends don't pay more than a hundred dollars for a week of lessons," she said, her voice having dropped from friendly to suspicious. "Please don't lie to me. I already told you. I don't like lies. If this is some kind of…If Katie…" She shook her head and swallowed again. "Please just tell me the truth."

It was such a loaded demand, especially after what she'd witnessed that morning. The truth would put her in danger. It would hurt her, ruin everything about her life. At the same time, I couldn't stand the fact that she was so afraid of me. For a reason that I didn't even understand, either. That was the frustrating part. I couldn't scale whatever wall was separating her from me. At least, not went it came to this. Kim was kind hearted and gentle, but I was quickly discovering that she was anything but trusting. I figured that her sister and her mother played a large role in that. Something had happened to her. Something made her this angry, untrusting person when it came for people wanting to befriend her.

She wanted me to tell her the truth. I couldn't bring myself to tell her about the Pack and the vampires. Not yet, at least. I needed time to figure out how to explain those things to her. But I could explain this much to her. "Can we take a walk? Like, not on horseback?" I asked. "I know of a clearing just up ahead. We could talk."

She eyed me again, but followed me to the clearing where she dismounted, tied Navajo's reins to thick branch and practically yanked Comanche's from me. She leaned against a thick tree trunk, her spine pressed against the bark and crossed her arms over her chest. The horses stood on either side of her, almost protective in the way they framed her. I extended a hand to her, which she promptly stared at. "Trust me," I implored.

She slid her hand into mine and let me pull her forward, to the spot where the wildflowers grew and sun shined through the clouds that always hung over Forks. "There are some things that I can't really tell you, Kim. Not yet, at least," I admitted. "But I can tell you this. I am…I am drawn, or maybe connected is a better word. Either way, you're right. I don't just want to be your friend. I want to be more because I care about you. I don't know what's happened to you in the past, Kim. I know that someone has hurt you and that's why you don't think I should be your friend, right?"

"It's not that simple, Jared," she whispered.

"I'm sure it's not. Look, I don't know who they are or were. I don't know what they did. But I do know that I'm not like them, that what I want from you is nothing like what they wanted." I smoothed my thumb across the back of her hand. I stopped her and brought myself before her, keeping our fingers threaded together. "I want to kiss you again," I breathed.

"Nothing has stopped you the last two times," she tried to snap, but her voice was breathless.

"You're right; I've lost control the last two times, but I won't do that again," I said, smiling down at her.

"Why not?" She looked away from my face and down at the ground, her teeth sinking into her lip. "Is it because…Look, Jared, I don't—I'd never, I mean until you, I—"

"It's not because I didn't like it," I said, realizing what her mumbled stuttering was supposed to be. "But because I have to do this right. Someone hurt you and I am not that person. I need you to trust me when I say that and the only way you will is if you know that I'm not like that." I leaned down and kissed her forehead, though, unable to help myself. "But, uh, the next time, Kim, you'll have to be the one to ask."

She looked up at me again, her eyes shimmering with tears and something that looked distinctly like hope. _Just don't take too long, Kim,_ I whispered in my own head. _I only have so much patience._


	23. Chapter XXII

**Author's Note: Happy Thanksgiving one and all! I, for one, am thankful for my family, my friends, my horses, and my lovely loyal readers. Annnnnnnnnd for four day weekends where I have three days off. That being said, I present you with the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXII<strong>

Jared stayed after his lessons for the next two days, helping me take the tack off both horses and rub them down. He would wait around for a few minutes after we'd finished, come up, kiss my cheek, and tell me that he'd see me the next morning. The third day, however, he pulled the saddle off Comanche, shoved it onto its hook, and turned back to look at me. "So, uh…What do you have planned for the rest of the day?" he asked me, licking his lips.

After the first trail ride through the forest, Jared had stopped trying to invade my space every chance that he could. Not that I really minded when he was close. It was more that I couldn't think…or breathe…or speak…whenever he got too close. But he was definitely determined to make me trust him. I saw it in his eyes every time that he looked at me. "I have a few horses that I to train," I replied. "Then some, uh, research to get done." He cocked his head to the side, brows furrowing in question. "It's for a paper," I added.

"That's cool. I was just wondering if…I mean, what time are you going to be home?" I looked at him confusedly, not exactly sure how this was any of his business. "What I meant to say was…Well, I went back to your house last night and—"

"You went to my house?" My blood ran cold as I thought of him going to my house. The same house that contained both my mother and my sister.

"And got stuck in your mother's _parlor_ with your sister for forty minutes," he groaned. "Time that I will _never_ get back, by the way."

I gave a breathy laugh and smiled a little. "My sincerest apologies. What were you doing at my house?" The embarrassed blush colored his cheeks as he lowered his head to look at the dirt. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. Jared Littlecreek couldn't be embarrassed, despite the look of it on his face. "Jared?" I prompted after a few moments of silence. If possible, I was fairly certain that he blushed a little deeper before raising his head to look at me.

"Well, see…So, I stopped by the house and…I mean, well—I stopped by your house to talk to you," he stated. In the last two days, I had accidentally let my tongue slip and said some things that I hadn't intended to. Jared hadn't really cared much about what I'd said, though. In fact, there were a couple of times when he'd smiled and laughed. In this particular instance, I had to fight the urge to tell him that I'd assumed he'd gone to my house to talk to—

He'd gone to my house to talk to me… And I had expected it. Oh, this was bad. This was worse than being alone with him. He was _winning_. I mean, not that there was something to lose. There wasn't. This wasn't some game. This was my life and I knew exactly what would happen if I trusted someone again. "Are you okay?" he called, his voice full of concern that was more sincere than anything I'd ever heard. "Kim?"

"I'm fine," I said swiftly. It was hard to remind myself that I didn't trust him when he looked like he was so worried about me. "You went to my house," I reminded him.

"I did because, well…well, because—"

"Because you wanted to talk to me," I filled in. Every one in school knew pretty much everything. Paul LaHote would date anything with legs and boobs. Jake Black would defend his pale-face best friend to the end of the Earth. Leah Clearwater wouldn't let anyone near her with a ten foot pole. Her younger brother was the sweetest person to walk this planet. And Jared Littlecreek was above and beyond the smoothest person this world had ever seen. Yet here he stood stammering and staring at the ground while blushing as he tried to explain something to me.

"Right, to talk. And I wanted to ask you something."

"Okay?"

"Well, you see, I was thinking and our lessons, I mean—the horseback riding, spending time together, it's great," he said, holding his hands up as if to ward off an attack. "But I was thinking that maybe we could do something _off_ the ranch."

"I don't understand. You want to trailer out for a trail ride?" I asked, thinking of the little trail fifteen minutes away that we could drive to. Although, I'd been planning on putting him on a different horse the next day, which meant a little more arena time. I wanted to make sure that he could handle Cloud before we took the horse out on the trail. Jared had been accelerating quickly, though. Comanche was an easy, well trained horse. He was good to learn on, but a little variation did a learning rider good. Otherwise, a novice would learn the signs of their horse and began anticipating those motions. Not every horse was the same, though. It was important to change things up. "We could go out on a little trail through the park, I guess, but I had been thinking—"

"I mean to go out," he cut in. "Like, _out_ out." Were we in the second grade? I felt like I was sitting with Katie when she'd been asking me if some boy in class liked her or _like _liked her. "On a date."

"Like a _date_ date?" I asked, realizing the hypocrisy that had just come out of my mouth.

"With dinner and dessert and a walk. Yes; a date," he said. Apparently my discomfiture made him feel more at ease, because his smile came easier and the blush that had flooded his cheeks disappeared. He was his same, regular charming self. "I went by your house to ask if you had time last night, but your mother said you were spending the night at the barn." Was that judgement that I heard in his voice? He didn't like being in my house for forty minutes. What made him think that I wanted to be in that house for a week? "So? Dinner? Tonight? There's a little Italian place in Port Angeles. From what I've heard it's pretty good."

"I, uh—Well, um…" My tongue was ten feet thick and my hands were shaking a mile a minute. I could handle horses bucking and crow hopping underneath me. I could handle them rearing and striking out at me when they were first beginning their ground training. Jared asking me out on a date, though…that was something completely different. I was on the verge of a heart attack. "I mean, um…I was—The problem is, or it will be—"

"I get it," he said, his eyes falling and his voice dropping. "You don't want to. It's cool. I just figured—"

"No! Wait," I screamed, lunging at his arm and pulling him back to look at me. "I do. I mean, I would like to. Yes. I would love to go out with you." He smiled brightly, the worry disappearing from his face. "I was trying to say that I can't tonight. My father has this important business associate whose daughter wants to take a lesson. They were supposed to be coming out on Saturday, but now they're coming out tonight for one lesson and then another one Saturday. And I promised my dad that I would be here as long as they needed me, in case the little girl wanted to—"

"No, no; I get it," he said. There was disappointment in his eyes, but he was still smiling. "Tomorrow, then? If you don't have plans or anything, of course."

The brief fear flashed through my brain again. He could be just like…well, just like _him_. Trusting Jared could put me in the same position, with the same humiliation and pain I'd known before. I couldn't handle that. Not again. It was the only time that Katie's friends had concerned themselves with me, the only time that they'd cared about my existence. But…_But_. The other part of my brain was screaming at me and telling me that I could do this. I knew what to look out for. I knew the signs of someone lying to me. I was smarter and stronger than I'd been before, even if Katie didn't know it. "Sure. I mean…yeah. _Yes._ Tomorrow night sounds great," I said, managing to muster up a small smile as well.

"Great. I'll be here at—"

"Kimberley!" a masculine voice called out, obnoxious shoes clipping against the pavement of the breezeway as he walked. Ken Morton was a picture of professionalism. He'd shown up to our barn in slacks and a light grey dress shirt, though he had left off his tie. His shoes looked like the same Italian leather that my father had imported from the same designer that my sister wanted her wedding dress to be designed from. He looked every inch the businessman, while little Vanessa looked like a stereotypical cowgirl. The young girl was wearing hot pink cowboy boots with rhinestones on the shafts and white stitching. Her blue jeans were covered by soft brown leather chaps with pink fringe that matched her boots to a shade, the same shade that ran through her teal, purple, and blue plaid shirt and the ribbon on her hat.

"Mr. Morton," I greeted politely, quickly stepping away from Jared's side. "Vanessa. My father isn't here yet, Mr. Morton, but we could certainly get started." I replied.

The older man smiled at me and stepped forward to hug me. Normally, I was a very affectionate person. But when it came to strangers, to people that I didn't know, I couldn't stand it. Even shaking someone's hand tended to make me uneasy. I certainly didn't do well with hugging people I didn't know. "You look absolutely lovely, dear," he said politely. "Very different from what you looked like at the dinner the other night, I will admit. It's a good different though. You look very much in your element," he added.

"Th—thank you, Mr. Morton. My horses are all the way down at the end of this hallway, if you hang a left at the dead end. I'm just finishing up this lesson here and then I'll be able to get Vanessa started. But you're more than welcome to go say hi," I urged.

"We didn't mean to interrupt your teachings, Kimberley dear," Morton continued. "We appreciate your taking time our of your day for us. Let us know when you're ready." He leaned down and kissed my cheek, causing a shiver to ripple of distaste to shudder through my body. I watched him retreat down the hall with his daughter before I turned all the way back to Jared.

"I'll be ready at seven, if that works for you," I said. "I just have to finish my research for that paper." I was so damn close to figuring it all out. I just needed the last piece of the puzzle, needed to make everything clear. Looking up, though, I noticed that Jared wasn't looking at me. His gaze was riveted at the end of the hall, where Morton and Vanessa had turned to look at all my horses. His eyes were narrowed and his brows practically connected with his frustration. "Seven?" I repeated.

"Yeah, yeah…seven tomorrow works. Hey, you mind if I hang out?" he asked, his words so rushed, they were practically one large word.

"I guess. I'm, um…I mean, I'm just going to be giving a lesson," I said, unsure why he would want to stay and watch me _teach_.

"Yeah, I, uh…I was just interested. I'm always on the the receiving end of the lesson. It'll be a big change to actually _watch_ for a change. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two," he suggested. "If that's okay with you," he added. I just shrugged, not really seeing a reason why it would be a problem. "Good; good. I'll, uh, I'll just keep my eyes open," he proclaimed cryptically.

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><p><strong>Author's Note Cont.: So, I have tomorrow off as well. I'll offer you guys the same deal I did yesterday. Five reviews for a chapter for tomorrow; eight for a double. Enjoy!<strong>


	24. Chapter XXIII

**Author's Note: Anyone else suffering a minor food coma after yesterday's Thanksgiving holiday? Okay, so for those who read my other stories, ****_Feathers for the Sky_**** and ****_Magic, Mischief, and Maids_**** will both be updated tonight (but it will be late). We did make it to eight reviews last night...Actually, I think you guys may have doubled it. So, there will be a double update today. Just like yesterday, I'll have the number posted in the next chapter, but ****_please_**** review on this one as well. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXIII <strong>

Vanessa was like most kids who were seven-years-old. She was a good listener and very coachable, doing exactly as I asked. Morton stood at the gate the entire time, his eyes following both of us as we rode in circles around the arena. Jared was sitting on the bleachers, but I noticed that he wasn't watching me or even Vanessa. His eyes were riveted on Ken Morton, which I found strange. I mean, I didn't exactly like the way that Morton had hugged me and something bugged me in the way that he'd insisted on kissing my cheek, but what else could I say? I was uncomfortable. There was nothing else to be said.

Jared being around did make me feel better, though. I couldn't quite explain why, only that I enjoyed knowing he was there if I needed him. My father showed up after a half hour at the barn, wearing his perfectly pressed slacks and shirt as well. "You have a lovely daughter," Morton said, his eyes on me as he spoke. "It's a miracle that your aren't up to your ears in men between your daughters. I couldn't possibly imagine two girls being more different, though."

My father laughed and smiled. "Katherine and Kimberley are quite different, but they are each very unique," he allowed.

"I believe we have some business to talk about," Morton said, turning away from the corral to talk to my father. I turned my full attention back to Vanessa, watching her tighten her hold on the roping reins that I'd given her. I reminded her of a few things: heels down, shoulders back. But for the most part, she was doing just fine. Comanche looked like he was falling asleep underneath the young girl, but he continued following the young girl's instructions.

"Would you like to lope now?" I asked her after we'd been riding for nearly an hour. She looked at me with hesitance in her eyes, fear that had been diminished as her confidence grew, but still fear. I smiled calmly at her and brought Apache over to her side. "What if we lope together?" I suggested. Horses weren't nearly as scaring as people tended to think they were. It was the size that usually scared people. Once they started riding and working with them, though, most people realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. But then, one bad experience could turn a child away from horses for the rest of their life. To air on the side of caution, I usually gazed a child's reaction to my suggestion that they lope. In Vanessa case, I could see that she wanted to but was afraid to do so alone.

I slid down from Apache's back and walked him out of the arena. Jared stepped down from the bleachers and grasped my stallion's reins in his fingers, smiling at me as he did. I found myself beaming back until my father looked at the two of us and I ducked shyly and pulled away from the magnetic grasp that developed between us. "Take your foot out of your left stirrup, Vanessa," I said, placing my own booted foot in it and mounting behind the saddle's cantle. I reached around her to lightly grasp the reins and nudge Comanche into the proper position. "On the count of three, we're going to tap Comanche with our left heel. He's going to jump out. You hold tight to the horn and just enjoy. I won't let anything happen to you," I promised her.

She nodded and released the reins, her knuckles turning white as she took hold of the saddle's horn. "One, two…three," I said sternly. Vanessa tapped the horse on his side, prompting him to leap out and begin at an easy lope. Vanessa giggled wildly, not that Comanche seemed to care. I tightened my arms around her so that she would feel safer. "Heels down. Clench your knees around the pommel a little to keep him in control. That's good, Vanessa," I cheered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Jared smiling at me as I held the little girl and showed her what I loved most about this sport. I could see the excitement in her eyes when I turned my gaze down for a moment, the smile that was spread over her face. "We're going to stop," I warned her. "When we do, you'll want to lean back a little bit and keep your heels down. And then you're going to say, Whoa." When we did finally stop, she was smiling so brightly at me, I couldn't help but smile back, remembering the first times that I could truly lope, the freedom that came with it. "Let's go the other way," I suggested to her. "And this time, you take the reins."

I gave them up willingly, knowing that if push came to shove, I could use my legs to control the horse. That was always the sign of a well-trained horse, as Tex would say. You didn't want your mount to get a hard mouth or to become too reliant on your hands. It was infinitely better if they took direction from your leg motions instead and your reins were used to reinforce. I helped Vanessa Morton position Comanche correctly, but didn't give him a tap to his barrel. Instead, I let her control it all and taste her first bit of exulting power, of freedom. "When you're ready to stop, Vanessa," I said quietly, not finishing the sentence. She nodded to me and did as I'd asked her to do before, leaning back and raising her hands. She shouted _whoa _a little louder than necessary, but it did the job. Comanche came to a stop, obviously wanting more of a run. But he didn't push his luck.

"That was awesome!" she shouted at me, twisting around to look at me with bright, wide eyes. "Can we do more? Can we, please?" she begged.

"Not today," I chuckled, slipping down from Comanche's back and helping her down as well. "You've been riding for an hour now. Comanche needs his rest."

"But I want to ride right now," she growled, crossing her arms over her chest and stomping her foot.

"I'm sorry, Vanessa, but we're done for the day," I said. I'd dealt with little kids who wanted to keep riding when their time was up. "But you can talk to your father about it. You're supposed to come again on Saturday."

"But I want to lope _now_."

"The answer is no," I replied sternly. "If you want to ride, Vanessa, you have to learn when the work is over. We're finished for the day. Come and hep me take the tack off," I suggested, grabbing Apache's reins from Jared and leading her to the take area again.

"The answer is no," she mocked. "I want to keep riding. I won't help you take his take off," she promised.

"Okay; then you won't ride on Saturday." Tex's rules were simple. Learners were expected to do as they were told and help where they could. Vanessa didn't have to keep riding with me. Her father being my father's business associate didn't change any of that.

"Of course Vanessa will ride on Saturday," my father said with forced brightness. "She's simply overexcited, Kimberley. Surely you can understand that."

"Vanessa, why don't you let Mr. Conwell show you some of the other horses. I'll help Kimberley take the, uh, gear off the horses," Mr. Morton said, giving me a smile as he said this.

"I'll help Kim," Jared said with a dark scowl on his face. "We can get it done quicker that way. Have you on your way. Sir."

Jared's voice was hard and his eyes wary of the man standing before us. "I'd much prefer to help Miss Kimberley, but thank you very much for your offer. If this sport is something my daughter hopes to enjoy, it would be for the best if I learned how to take care of a few things on my own," Morton replied. "I am eager for your instruction, Miss Conwell," he added, smiling at me again. "If you'd like to be of service, young man, perhaps you could go and look in on my daughter. I'd hate for her to be getting into trouble."

Jared gave me a hard stare before backing slowly away from the two of us. Morton took the time to unbeaten his cuffs and begin the process of rolling them up, his gaze never leaving mine. "It was very kind of you to offer to help me, Mr. Morton, but I can more than manage on my own," I promised him. I lifted the stirrup and fender, hooking the former over the horn and gently beginning to loosen the cinch.

Warmth came up behind me, pressing into my spine and surrounded me. It was a different kind of warmth than that of Jared. It wasn't the comforting heat that was offered, but rather suffocation. It was like standing in hundred degree heat with ninety-five percent humidity. "You were quite something to watch atop that beast, Miss Conwell," Morton said, his voice surging over me. I arched my back to put a little space between us. His hands came up to rest on my waist, the touch making me shiver with disgust. I tried to push myself more into Apache's hide, to move away Morton standing behind. "I knew that there was something beautiful and graceful about you, Kimberley. Something your sister couldn't even compare to."

"Let me go," I growled, twisting away from him. "I'll tell my father."

"Tell him what? Anything that you tell him I would simply deny. And, obviously, I would be deeply offended and forced to end our negotiations. I'd have to ruin your father's business," he said, letting me go and leaving me standing against my horse. "Just a little food for thought, Miss Conwell. I'm sure you'll figure it out." He stepped away, smiling that sickening grin. "Perhaps I should go and check on Vanessa. We'll meet again, Kimberley dear. Saturday…bright and early."


	25. Chapter XXIV

**Author's Note: All right guys, here's the next chapter. Because of work tomorrow, I will not be offering a double update. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXIV<strong>

I flipped over on my bed, struggling to push Ken Morton from my thoughts. He'd walked away from me after declaring that he could ruin everything that my father had worked for, leaving me to stand alone in the hallway. Jared had come sprinting back to see me; I could only assume it was a few moments after Morton had come back to his daughter and my father. He'd asked me if I was okay, put a tentative hand on my shoulder as he looked me over.

I'd known a brief moment of panic, unsure what to say. The way that Jared had glared at Morton when the man who been near told me that Jared obviously didn't trust him. Telling him what had happened could… I got the distinct feeling that Jared would just about explode, would kill Morton for coming near to me. Besides, what was I going to say? Morton stepped up behind me and put his hands on my waist. He complimented me and told me that I was prettier than my sister. He also made it perfectly clear that telling my father would result in the man's ruination.

No; it would be better for everyone if I just pushed the thoughts away from my brain. Now that I knew more about the man, I knew to avoid being alone with Morton at all costs. I didn't think that it would really be all that difficult. I just had to make sure Vanessa, at least, was always between us. And, though Morton tried to make it seem like my father was the only one gaining from their business deal, my father would ruin him if he saw anything happen. He wasn't exactly the most attentive father, but he _did_ care. He wouldn't let someone hurt me.

I rolled over for the fifth time and lifted the book that had been resting on my stomach. _"The Pale Ones made a deal with Quileute Wolves. Boundaries for each respective territory was drawn up. So long as the Cold Ones remained on their side of the river, the Wolves would remain on theirs and no trouble would come to them,"_ I read aloud, staring at the words. What I'd thought was going to be some quick research that would give me all the answers had quickly turned into someone more.

Every night, I picked up one of the books I'd rented and read the entire thing cover to cover, refusing to sleep until I had the entire thing finished. I took notes as I read, trying to make sense of the words that were staring at me. Unfortunately, all the notes that I was writing down weren't making any sense. Where they overlapped, I could understand everything that was being said. But there were parts of the legends that differed. One book would say that the Quileute would always be protected by their wolf warriors while another said that the wolves only appeared when the number of vampires became a direct threat to the people.

After three days of doing nothing but reading every night, I stopped reading Native American academics and went back to the original legends. It seemed like the millionth time that I had read through the transcriptions of the legends. My eyes traveled over the page again and again until I caught something that I hadn't noticed before. The Cullens…The Cullens were, supposedly, the ones who'd made the deal with Ephraim Black and his Pack. That was…two generations ago. Billy Black had to know something. He _had _to know something. He was the chief of the tribe and head of the Counsel.

I rolled off the bed and reached for my boots, attempting to shove my feet into them when the door to my tack area was flung aside. "What are Earth are you thinking?" I heard, recognizing the person by the silhouette before I even heard the voice. I closed the book as quickly as I could and shoved it beneath the pillow. The last person that I needed to see was my sister. I just wanted to be left alone in peace and silence, to go to sleep and dream of my date with Jared Littlecreek.

"Katie, it is ten o'clock at night," I said, squinting against the light that was streaming in from the barn lights. "Why are you here? Don't you have something going on tomorrow that you need to get done?" I asked seriously, just wanting her to leave. I relished my time without Katie anywhere around me, especially since I had a date with Jared in less than twenty-four hours. "Isn't Mom going to be furious that you're not at home right now?" I added, hoping that it would get her to leave faster.

"You can't be serious about going on a date with Jared Littlecreek," she said, leaning against the doorjamb. "Uh, and how can you sleep in here? God, it smells like…like…"

"Like pine shavings," I filled in. It was the one thing that made me feel like I was at home again. This was safe, perfectly safe.

"Yeah, not the point here. I heard from Melissa who heard from Jodie who heard from Nina that you were going on a date with Jared Littlecreek tomorrow," she said, cocking her head to the side as she questioned me. "See, now I told Melissa that you couldn't possibly be going out with Jared. I mean, beside the fact that you're _you_, I knew that you would never betray me like that."

"How exactly is going out with Jared betraying you, Katie? He's never asked you out," I said, my voice soft and not nearly authoritative enough to command my sister's attention. But the comment stung anyways. I saw it on her face. Her eyes narrowed and a face that mirrored my own twisted in disgust. "I didn't ask him out, Kim. He asked me."

"And how do you know he's not like Adam?" she retorted. If it had stung for me to point out that Jared hadn't asked her out, it burned to hear her remind me of _him_. He was my version of Voldemort. I didn't say his name. I didn't mention him or anything that the two of us had ever done together. I pretended those weeks of my life hadn't existed. And it had all been because of my sister, because of the one time in my life that I had tried to make my own desires and wants known.

Worse; my mother had known and had let everything happen.

"He's not," I said sternly. _He_ always wanted to parade me around people, to show off that we were together. Jared didn't do that. In fact, he tended to keep the two of us out of sight of everyone else. _He_ had always asked about my family, specifically about my sister. Jared, on the other hand, asked about my horses. He got to know Tex and Martha. He talked to my horses like they were…well, he talked to them like I did. The two of them were nothing alike. "Jared is nothing like _him_."

"So? What is this then?" she asked, waving a hand between the two of us. "You're putting some boy before you and me? You're letting some guy be more important than me?" Wasn't that the exact same thing that she had always done to me? Hadn't I always been less important than whatever boy she was dating or whatever competition she had coming up? Weren't there a million more things that mattered than me? "Jared Littlecreek may be interested in you now, Jared, but that's going to pass. All interest passes. And then you'll only have me left for you, Kim."

"You haven't been there before, Katie. Why would you be there now? I know what you are. I know who you are," I said softly. "All those people you call friends may think that they know you, but they don't. Is it so wrong for me to want someone? To want to go out on a date with someone?"

"I'd have thought that you would've learned," she said.

"Learned what, Katie? That you can't stand for someone else to be happy? Or that you hate being rejected?"

"I only did what I did because I was looking out for you. I told you that Adam confused the two of us that day, but you just had to make it all about yourself, didn't you? You were determined that Adam liked you the way that you were and you wouldn't listen to a word that I said. Adam went along with my little plan. It wasn't anything mean or malicious," she said. Paying one of her little play things to pretend that he liked me, to pretend that we were something when we weren't…that wasn't supposed to be malicious? "Just, trust me, Kim. I care about you; I mean, you're my sister. Just trust me. Jared Littlecreek is _just_ like Adam."

My sister turned and walked away, not bothering to look over her shoulder. She shied away from Lakota when my little filly raced to her door and snorted, giving a little shriek. A few days ago, I would have believed that Katie was right. All men were like _him_ and Jared would be no different. But having spent two hours a day for the last three days, talking to Jared and actually getting to know him, I was beginning to think differently. Katie might just be wrong this time.

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><p><strong>Author's Note Cont.: All right, guys. I could potentially do a chapter tomorrow before going to work. So, if you would like a chapter, I would like to see... Let's say four reviews? Enjoy!<strong>


	26. Chapter XXV

**Author's Note: Okay guys; here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy! I would like to see FIVE REVIEWS for a chapter on Monday (I don't update on Sundays). It would take an overwhelming number of reviews (let's ball park it at fifteen) for me to be prompted to update tomorrow (Sunday). Enjoy!**

**Chapter XXV**

Should I put my hair up? Or maybe I should leave it down? I mean, I didn't often wear my hair down. It would be a change of pace to— "What's are you doing?" Martha asked, watching me fuss with my hair in the bathroom mirror. "Are you thinking about cutting your hair? Kim, it could be a nice change of pace and I can think of—"

"I'm not cutting my hair, Martha," I said laughingly. "Jared asked me on a date and we're going out tonight but I'm just thinking about my hair. I mean, should I wear it down or up? Should I wear a skirt? Why would I ever wear a skirt and—"

"Hold it!" Martha shouted, pushing her plump form into the bathroom and shoving the door shut behind her. "Did you just say that you have a date with Jared? The boy who you've been giving lessons to? That Jared?" Unlike my sister's questions, Martha's came from a place of excitement. Katie had been outraged that I was even thinking about going on a date with Jared. I could see Martha's mind turning as she planned out every detail of our date. "Where are you going? What are you going to wear? I can't believe that you didn't tell me about this date. You are going to be in so much trouble tomorrow." I laughed at her obvious anger and frustration with me. "Kimberley, what are you going to wear?"

"I don't know," I giggled. "I'm just getting started, but all of my stuff is back at the house. Katie was already upset with me last night when she realized I was going on this date. To tell the truth, I'm not exactly too sure of it—"

"Don't you dare," she growled at me. "You are not doing this to me. I have waited three very long years for you to go on another date. You will not think about your sister while you're out tonight. You will not let anything that your mother says come into your mind. And you are going to enjoy yourself." I smiled at her. "Now, you are not going to worry about another thing. Come back to the house with me; I'm going to take care of everything."

And take care of it she did. While I tried to tell her that my hair refused to curl, Martha just chuckled. She curled each section of hair and pinned it to my head, waiting until it cooled to unpin it and let them bounce down my back. She pulled the front of my hair back so that it was out of my face. She dusted my face with shimmering nude eyeshadow and then instructed me to put some mascara on. "Now, for the finishing touch," she said with a smile. I smoothed my hands down my jeans and let her pull out whatever she was wanting from her closet. "I wore this when I was about your age," she said softly, holding the lace confection in front of her.

The dress was a cream color with eyelet style lace decorating the entire top of it. The straps were were about an inch thick, in the same style as the rest of the dress. "I know that it's a little old, Kimmie, but I was thinking you could wear it with your denim jacket. That vintage thing is in style, isn't it? With your grandmother's turquoise necklace. Oh, Kim, you'd look so beautiful. But it's only if you want—"

"This is stunning, Martha. But…I can't—I can't take this dress. It's yours," I said, picturing exactly what she was saying in my head. I would look like myself…in a dress…with makeup on.

"Sweetheart, I haven't fit in that dress in ages. I'd always thought I would give it to my daughter when she went on her first date," Martha said with a soft smile. "I don't regret the way that my life has turned out, Kim. I wish that I had children, but you can't change the past. I didn't have little girls to give this dress to, but I do have you. Wear the dress, Kim. Go on this date." She pressed the lace and cotton into my hands. "And wake me up tomorrow to give me all the details," she insisted. "Go be a princess for a night, Kim."

I certainly felt like a princess as I stood in front of my tack room turned bedroom. I walked back and forth, my dress boots clopping against the pavement as I waited. Martha was staring at me with that motherly smile while Tex was reclined in his rocking chair, his arms folded across his chest and a shotgun resting over the arms of his chair. "Kim?" My breath shuddered in my lungs as I heard his voice. I clenched my fingers around the leather strap of my purse. This was such a bad idea. What was I doing? Going on a date with Jared Littlecreek… What was I thinking? This was— "My God, Kim," Jared breathed.

He was wearing dark wash denim jeans and a pale green button up shirt. He looked…like… This was a terrible idea. "You look fantastic," he breathed, stepping closer to me. "Are you ready to go?" he asked me. I was trying so hard to breathe, I didn't think that I could speak if I tried. So I nodded and stumbled towards him.

Tex lurched from his chair and glared at the man. "Martha, you help Kim with her hair or whatever. I've got to have a talk with the boy here," he said sternly.

"Tex," I moaned.

"It's all right, Kim," Jared assured me. Martha hooked an arm through mine and started dragging me away while I peered over my shoulder to stare after Jared. I could only imagine what Tex was saying to the boy taking me out. All I could imagine was something bad. Something very, very bad.

"Maybe I shouldn't have let them stay alone," I muttered, still staring back at the hallway, but no longer able to see them. "Tex might shoot him."

"You and I both know that man is all bark and no bite. Besides, Jared knows how important Tex is to you. He'll be on his best behavior," Martha said quietly. I felt her stiffen as she came to a stop. "Don't look know, but here comes trouble," she warned me. I don't think that her voice had ever sounded so dark and menacing. At this moment, I could truly believe her capable of doing someone harm.

"What are you doing here, Katie?" I asked, looking straight at my sister and drawing the denim jacket tighter around myself. She knew that we were going out tonight. I'm sure she had even found out that the two of us were meeting here at the barn. But why she had brought _him _with her, I couldn't even hazard a guess. It was cruel, mean…I supposed I shouldn't really be surprised that Katie thought something like that was acceptable. "Just leave me alone."

"This is private property," Martha said, her voice ringing out far clearer than mine had. "I don't want you here. You get going now," she commanded sternly, glaring at the boy that was standing at my sister's side.

"My parents pay board here and there's a release for me to ride and be around these horses. You can't exactly kick me out, you little witch," Katie snapped.

"Hey," I growled, stepping between my sister and Martha. "That's too far. Martha is just looking out for me." My sister leveled me with the glare that warned me what she would do if I continued. "Just leave, Katie. You can't change anything now. Jared's already here."

"I'm not here to tell you that you shouldn't go out with him. If you want to ruin your life, Kim, that's your prerogative. I simply brought my friend here so that we could remind you of what could easily happen."

_He_ stepped forward, his eyes as kind and smiling as ever. The man really should be an actor. He was certainly good enough. "Kim, what happened between you and me..." he trailed off and looked me in the eye My stomach rebelled, the muscles clenching as I fought for control of myself. "I know that it seemed cruel at the time, Kim, but your sister only asked for my help because she cares about you. And Jared? I've known him for years. You'll only end up hurting yourself."

"This is who you brought to make me listen? Are you kidding, Katie?" I had so many things that I wanted to scream at her, names I wanted to call him. "Can't you admit it, even just to yourself? You used him to teach me a lesson and I learmed. I get if. I'm not pretty. I'm not thin. I'm not something that anyone will ever want. I will never compare to you. Is that what you want to hear? I will never be as beautiful or as good as you are. There! Now let me make my own mistakes. Stop trying to teach me your lessons. If Jared doesn't want me, if I was stupid enough to fall for it twice, then fine. But please, just leave me alone."

"I seem to remeber someone saying the exact same thing around the time Adam asked you out," Katie said. "I tried to stop you then. But you were too stubborn to listen." She clicked her tongue with pity and sighed. "I thoughy you were smarter than to let abhot boy distract you two times with the same trick."

"Katie..."

"Let's face it, Kim. You're no one. Not a single soul in that school would know who you were if you weren't my sister. You try to pull off the I don't care look, and instead you just look like a slopy mess. I'm trying to help you. Use your talents and stop letting yourself be fooled. You're smart, Kimmie. Jared probably just needs help with his homework since he's been absent so much. Don't let him do what Adam did."

"And what, exactly, did Adam do?" an animalistic voice snarled.


	27. Chapter XXVI

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm sorry that I didn't get a chapter up on Sunday. I was completely overwhelmed by the number of reviews, but ended up spending the day in bed with a migraine that I couldn't defeat with my best efforts. That being said, this chapter is a little longer than most, to make up for the fact that there wasn't a chapter. And I'm only asking for THREE REVIEWS for you guys to see an update tomorrow. **

**On another note, PLEASE READ, I have a few update announcements for the next few weeks. Thursday, December 4, 2014, I have a late night exam. Depending on how much studying I do before hand, there may or may not be chapters that day. I have finals week of school December 15 - December 19. As we get closer and I know what days my exams are (and which are canceled), I'll fill you in on some missing days. I try my hardest to update regularly for you guys, so I'm asking that you respect my decision to not update while I have exams. And finally, I will be traveling December 19, 2014 from Wyoming to California. Depending on my shuttle time, flight time, delays, and all other traveling nonsense, I may or may not be able to update. Let's all look forward to December 20, though, as it will be the beginning of six weeks off of work and school for me (and a marathon of updates for you guys). **

**Okay; I think that covers everything...THREE REVIEWS for a chapter update tomorrow...Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXVI: <em>Jared's Point of View<em>**

"Let me just make this clear," Tex was saying, his gravelly voice having turned gruff with emotion. I could understand it completely. Kim had looked like a goddess set down onto this Earth to tempt mere mortals like myself. I had seen her, though, with Tex and Martha the last few days. Her family left something to be desired, but _this_ family was everything anyone could hope for. They cared about her in a way that her parents didn't seem to. "You've been coming around for a while, kid. And Kim may be scared, but she's been happier since you've been here."

I smiled a little at those words. Tex saw her every day. If anyone knew Kim's moods and emotions, it was him. "She's been hurt before. I won't let it happen to her again. That little girl may not be my daughter, but she's the closest thing I got. You hurt her, a buckshot will be the least of your problems. We clear?" Short, sweet and to the point. If I didn't already respect the man for being so important to my imprint, I would've for the way that he was growling at me.

"The last thing that I ever want to do is hurt Kim," I said honestly. "I don't know what happened to her before, but I know that I'm nothing like that guy."

"You're right about that," Tex said. "I wouldn't have let you come near if I thought you were anything like that kid." He extended a hand to me, his face schooled into a dark scowl. "Just make sure you don't hurt my girl. You're taking lessons out here. I could always make it look like an accident."

"Yes, sir," I replied, taking hold of his hand and giving it a firm shake.

"All right," he said, clearing his throat. "Get out of here. Go have fun. I'll be waiting up for the pair of you."

"Yes, sir," I said, fighting the urge and turn to run for my imprint. Her honey toned skin shimmered against the lightness of the dress. Her legs were even longer and more shapely than I remembered. Her hair was practically satin in the sun light, making me long to bury my fingers in the tresses. I wanted this date and this moment more than I'd wanted anything in my life. I'd seen her in a dress before, at the dance when she'd known and at that dinner, where she'd been more unaware. But nothing could have prepared me for that lace dress and denim jacket. It was a more feminine version of the Kim that I had been getting to know.

"I seem to remember someone saying the exact same thing around the time Adam asked you out." I groaned as I heard the voice and was smothered by the sent of perfume. It had to be her sister. We just couldn't be left alone. The most important day since I had imprinted on her and we had to deal with her sister. "I tried to stop you then. But you were too stubborn to listen." I didn't like the sound of that at all. As I stepped closer, I saw Katie standing in front of Kim, her arms crossed over her small chest. A man stood at her side. Adam Riverton. I'd never liked the guy. I liked him even less as I saw the way that he was staring after my imprint's sister. "I thought you were smarter than to a let a boy distract you two times with the same trick."

Martha noticed me nearing and opened her mouth to say something, but I held a finger up to my lips. I wanted to know what happened, why Katie was there, and what the hell Adam had to do with it. "Katie," Kim started to say. I was surprised to hear her speaking up, even if she was relatively quiet when she spoke.

"Let's face it, Kim. You're no one. Not a single soul in that school would know who you were if you weren't my sister. You try to pull off the 'I don't care' look, and instead you just look like a sloppy mess." I growled at that. Kim never looked sloppy. And she never looked like she didn't care. She dressed for comfort. And she looked stunning, no matter what she was wearing. "I'm trying to help you," Kate continued. "Use your talents and stop lettings yourself be fooled. You're smart, Kimmie. Jared probably just needs help with his homework, since he's been absent so much. Don't let him do what Adam did."

It was said with such sincerity, I think that Katie actually believed she was doing what was best for her sister. But I could deal with that another time. Right now, I needed to deal with the matter at hand. Adam Riverton. "And what, exactly, did Adam do?" I asked. Kim jerked around, her eyes misted over with tears. _This_ was what Kim had been hiding. This was why she didn't trust me. Her glossed lips opened, trembling as she looked at me and tried to figure out how to say whatever was needed.

"Jared!" Katie said, her voice dripping honey as she beamed at me. "I'm surprised that Kim didn't tell you. She seemed to think that you were so different from other boys." Katherine Conwell was a black widow if ever one existed. She knew how to throw the perfect barb to do damage and still make herself seem completely innocent. With one statement, she'd made me feel like an ass and Kim feel like a distrusting witch. "Maybe I should explain."

"Katie, don't," Kim pleaded softly. She was trembling and trying not to cry. Whatever Adam had done to her had done more damage than I realized.

"Oh, you're right, Kimmie. You're a big girl who doesn't need my help at all. I mean, you know the consequences of this," Katie said softly. "Adam and I will just leave."

"The hell you will. I want answers. Now," I snarled. "What did Adam do?"

"Jared, please. We can talk about this later," Kim tried to say, but I refused to be swayed. I needed to know what she had gone through. "Please."

"Tell me, Kim," I replied, resting my hand on her arm. The tears were building so high, I couldn't fathom that they hadn't broken the dam.

"Oh, yes, Kim; tell him everything," Katie said.

"Shut up, Katie," I snapped. Despite the conversation that I'd had with her, she still seemed to think that I would be interested in her. It wasn't going to happen before I imprinted. It sure as hell wouldn't happen now that I'd found Kim.

"Maybe we should just leave," Adam suggested, stepping up behind Katherine.

"You move, I'll rip your arms off," I warned. Katie was staring at me like I had grown a second head. "Kim, tell me what happened. Please." She cast a weary glance at her sister and companion. I gently clasped her upper arm and towed her far enough away that she would feel comfortable, but close enough that I could keep an eye on the pair behind us. I turned her back to her enemies and leaned down to catch her eye. "I want to know, Sunshine. Please."

"Please don't make me tell you," she replied, but I just stared at her expectantly. "Adam thought that I was Katie. And he was…interested in me. Well, he was interested in Katie, but he thought that I was her. She tried to tell me, but I didn't believe her. I said some terrible things to her—"

"Don't make excuses for her. What happened?" I demanded, growing frustrated once again. I was sick and tired of hearing excuses for her sister.

"Katie was trying to teach me a lesson. At least, that's how it started. Adam asked me out. He was nice and sweet. It was the one time that Katie and I really got along. I would go out with him and come home and Katie would be waiting to talk to me. I had…I'd thought that we were connecting," she admitted, the pain fresh in her eyes. "It was all part of her lesson, I guess. Adam asked me to the Winter Formal. Katie helped me do my hair and makeup, helped me get ready. The whole deal."

Her voice wavered and she looked down at the ground. "I can't believe that you haven't heard about this. I thought everyone knew." I frowned, trying to remember anything that I had heard about her from our freshman year. "Adam…" She licked her lips and looked up at me. "My sister and Adam had me crowned Snow Queen and he dumped me on the stage in front of the entire junior and senior class." Her chest heaved, the words leaving in a rush. "He said that I should've expected it, that someone like him wouldn't have dated someone like me."

I debated for a moment. Watching her try not to cry was breaking my heart in two while not knowing what had been said was boiling the blood in my veins. I could recall something about Winter Formal freshman year, but it was exclusive to upperclassmen and their dates, just like prom. To have been invited as a freshman would've been fantastic for any girl, but for someone as over looked as Kim…it would've been incredible. It hadn't been a lesson, it had been punishment. Katie had been making a point. Kim had dared to defy her, had dared to think that someone had wanted her instead of her sister. "What did they say, Sunshine?"

"Nothing that I haven't heard a million times. I'm not nearly as pretty as my sister; and I know that. I'm too…big. I'm a brain, not a beauty. Nothing that isn't— Hearing them didn't hurt. Having everyone else hear them did," she explained, but it was what she hadn't said that caught my ears. Kim obviously believed that she wasn't pretty enough. "I learned my lesson."

"I'll kill him," I snarled, gently setting her aside and marching up to the asshole standing beside her twin. "What the hell is wrong with you two?" I growled, wrapping my hand in the fabric of his throat.

"Jared!" I heard Kim shouting behind me, but I ignored her for the moment.

I shoved him up against the side of my truck, my lip lifting as my arms started trembling. "What the hell is wrong with you, huh?" I shook him hard, enjoying the way that his teeth rattled in his jaw. "Do you have any damn idea who you hurt? Huh?"

"Jared, stop!" she screamed, ducking beneath my arm and shoving herself between us. She placed both her palms on my chest and pushed against me. "Stop. You don't want to hurt him," she said, her voice wobbling.

"You're right. I'm going to kill him." I could feel myself losing control as I imagined the look on her face, the things that were said about her, the whispers afterwards. She'd have been devastated. I could just as easily recall the look on her face at the Spring Fling, when I'd asked her out; when she'd assumed that I'd been part of Katie's plan. This was why. Her entire life, she'd been told who she was, who she was supposed to be, and what kind of man she should be with. It was what I'd been fighting against. She'd allowed herself to trust before and had been publicly disgraced by the person who should have stood up for her the most. I wouldn't even be surprised if her mother had known and hadn't cared. Or worse, that he mother had supported her sister.

I set her aside from me, cocked my fist, and let loose, watching the startled look on his face as my fist connected with his cheek. He screeched and covered his bloody, hopefully broken, nose. Katie shrieked as well and ducked behind him, as if I would come after her next. If I could bring myself to do something to her, I might have. Besides the fact that she was a woman, she looked too much like Kim for me to hurt. "You come near my im—Kim; you come near Kim again, a black eye will seem like nothing," I warned him, dropping him back to the concrete and glaring. "You better leave before I change my mind, you piece of—"

"Jared, stop!" she pleaded, one tear having finally broken through the rest of them. "Just stop. Let's just…let's just go. Please. Let's go to dinner." She slid her hand into mine and pulled me back. "I told you what happened. You know everything that happened. Okay? Let's just go."

"There's no way that she told you," Katie snapped, pushing away from Adam and standing before us. "Kim doesn't have the balls to tell anyone what happened and how stupid she was."

"Katherine, shut up," I managed through clenched teeth. "Calling you a bitch was too nice. You are—"

"I'm what? You can't say that I wasn't right. I tried to tell her that she would only get hurt. She was the one who thought that she was something she wasn't. I was looking out for my sister."

"You were looking out for yourself," I snapped. "And you're not worth the time that this argument is taking. You," I pointed a finger at Adam, "stay away from her, or I won't be the only person that you'll have to deal with. And you," I jabbed at Katie now, "need to get one thing straight. I will _never_ want you. I will _never_ leave your sister for you." I wouldn't leave Kim for anyone. "Go find someone else's life to ruin. I won't let you ruin hers." I clenched my fingers around Kim's and gently pulled her towards the car.

Kim was silent as I pulled away from the barn. Her arms were locked around her knees, which were curled against her chest. The position was hardly modest, but it seemed to comfort her. "You didn't have to do that," she breathed, staring out the windshield. "It's not the first time that my sister has tried to remind me about the Formal."

How could I apologize or even come close to being sorry enough? No one stood up for her. For two years, Kim had struggled with this on her own. No wonder she'd been hiding from the world for so long. "I did have to do that," I growled. My arms were shaking. I was struggling to keep control of my anger, trying to avoid snapping the steering wheel of the car. The last thing that I needed was to have an accident today. This day wasn't turning out the way that it was supposed to. "You think I'd let someone talk to my imprint that way? I can't believe that you've lived with her for this long. You should've told me about Adam. I'd have kicked his ass ages ago."

"What did you say?" she whispered, her voice so soft I almost missed it.

"You should have told me about Adam. I knew that something had happened at that Formal, but I'd never heard your name. You should have told someone. You should have told _me. _I've never liked him. I wouldn't have mind beating him to a pulp years ago," I explained, practically panting with the need to phase. I just needed to calm down. If I could convince her to scoot over to me, where I could touch her, feel the warmth of her skin against mine…

"You called me your imprint."

"What?" The truck swerved as my heart skipped a beat. "No; no I didn't. No, no…you've had a rough day with your…your sister and Adam," my teeth clenched at the idea. "You must have heard me wrong."

I could feel her staring at me, practically see the gears in her brain turning. I'd been waiting for this day since the moment I'd imprinted on her. Katie and Adam had already put one bump in the road. I just wanted the rest of this to work out. I took a deep breath and told myself that Kim wouldn't even know what _imprint_ meant. "You called me an imprint," she repeated, her brown puckering in the most adorable way. "That's why you didn't want me to know."

"What are you talking about, Kim?" My heart thundered, torn between excitement, desperation, and fear that she knew what she was talking about.

"You're one of them."


	28. Chapter XXVII

**Author's Note: You don't even want to get me started. We should all be thanking the guy who's stuck by my side through everything. What you guys don't get to see is all the behind-the-scenes. Therefore, you didn't see me quite literally throw my hands up and scream and come within moments of abandoning all my stories and deleting my account. It's amazing how one person's nasty, unnecessary comments can complete ruin your plan. But I was convinced to give posting another shot... So here we go. Enjoy!**

**Chapter XXVII**

"Jared," I said softly, trying to pull his gaze back to me. He'd been steadily avoiding my eyes since the moment that I had spoken. His fingers were white around the steering wheel as he drove. The speed was growing, the needle of the speedometer heading closer to me. "You're going too fast," I pointed out, trying to avoid begging him to slow down. "Jared," I repeated when he didn't seem to hear me. "If you don't stop, Jared…" I left the threat empty, not exactly sure what I would do. But it did the trick, as Jared slowed the car and stared at me. "Are you going to pull over?" I whispered. "So we can talk."

"If you promise me that you won't run away," he conditioned, his brown eyes leveling with me with a pleading stare. I nodded slowly, wondering why he would think that I would run away. I mean, I was angry with him. He should have told me what it was when I was explaining things, when i was telling him what I had seen. And yet, I could understand why he hadn't. You couldn't exactly go around publicizing that information. He'd either be sent to an institution or a lab to be tested on. Fury and understanding warred within me.

Unfortunately, I wasn't someone whose fury lasted very long. I was more inclined to try and figure out someone's problems that be angry about any hurts that had been dealt to me. After all, if you could understand why someone did something, you could figure out how to help you. In this case, I suspected that Jared might need someone to talk to. Just talk. There were clearly secrets that he had to keep, things he couldn't tell people. But everyone needed to vent sometime.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" I breathed when we were over on the shoulder of the road. I fiddled with the lace on my dress front. "You're one of the Quileute Spirit Warriors, right? That's why you didn't want me knowing that they were real. It's supposed to be a secret, right?" I saw him looking at the seat of his truck, his lips pursed in one thing line. "After the accident, I started some research of my own," I admitted. "I couldn't…Jared, I knew that I had seen something that couldn't be faked. I checked out every book on the Quileute legends. I've been researching everything that there is to know about the legends, things that we aren't taught as kids."

"Like?" His voice was broken, like he was afraid of what my response would be.

"Like the Cullens coming to Ephraim Black to make their treaty. Cullen isn't exactly a common last name, wouldn't you agree?" I cocked my head to the side and waited for a response that never came. "I've read every piece of material there is. And you called me—You called me your imprint. Which means that not only are you a wolf, you're—I—You weren't going to tell me, were you?" Outraged roared through me.

From what I had read, imprints were a wolf's soulmate. They were the match in every way to the wolf. While some scholars had argued that the imprints made stronger, smarter, more strategic wolves. There were several different opinions about them, though. Some felt that the imprints were forced against their will into relationships they didn't want. Others felt that it was all an illusion, spirits and magic that made you feel like you loved someone when you didn't.

I wasn't in love with Jared. I was seventeen-years-old. I was far from love. But I was in strong like with him. In all my readings, I'd always felt like the imprints were lucky. They found a love that couldn't be broken or bent, that allowed them to be together for the rest of their lives. Normal people were lucky if they found someone that could care about them. I wasn't sure what I felt about the imprint…I knew that I wanted to beat him with my purse for not telling me about it, especially when I'd guessed so much of it.

"Kim—"

"How could you?" I asked, so quiet I wasn't sure that he heard me. "Why wouldn't you just tell me? If there is one thing that I am, it's proud of my heritage. Did you think I wouldn't understand? Did you think that I would judge you? You're tied to me for the rest of my life, right? Regardless of the things that we had planned, we're bound together now."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Kim," he replied. My heart sank to my toes. This was why he hadn't told me. He didn't want to be stuck with me. He probably wanted someone like my sister. Maybe not quite as self-centered as Katie, but someone more like her.

"I see," I breathed, nodding my head slowly. "Well, regardless. I should have been told about what happened, when it happened. Instead, you have been lying to me. You've been pretending that you want to be around me when the reality is that something has drawn you to me." I swallowed back the sob. An involuntary shudder moved down my spine. "We don't have to do this then," I added, looking across the cab at him. "This…this date. We don't have to do this. After all, it doesn't have to be this way."

Horror struck his face, eyes wide. "Kim, I didn't mean…I wasn't trying to say—I _wanted_ to go on this date, Kim. Look, what's in books and what's in reality aren't always the same thing. In a book, everyone gets a happy ending. In reality…In reality, Kim, things don't work those way. You have to understand—"

"I want out of this car," I stated bluntly. The corners of his mouth drooped a little bit as looked at me again. His eyes fell to sadness, his mouth opening and closing like a cod fish.

"I can—I'l take you back to the barn," he replied.

"No. I want out of the car. Unlock the doors," I instructed again.

"Kim, you never know what could be out there," he tried again. I stopped asking, reached over and pulled the lock up. "Kim, wait! Please, just let me—Where are you going?" he demanded as I standard stamping towards the forest. "Hey! What part of 'you never know what's out there' did you not understand? That redhead—Kim!"

I heard him growl and heard the door to his truck slam shut. The leaves crunched quickly behind me. A warm hand closed around my elbow and gently pulled me to a stop. "The barn is that way," he said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder and to his left. "Please, let me take you home…or back to the barn."

"I don't want to go back to the barn," I replied, trying to tamper down the anger in my voice.

"Then just tell me where I can take you. I don't want you to go…go traipsing through the forest on your own. There are bad things out there," he said for the second time.

"You mean vampires," I said, turning back to him and folding my arms over my chest. "I told you, I've been researching for four days. I haven't slept in days! I know what's out there, Jared." I felt like I was unraveling. I could hear my voice turning to that point of insane. "What I don't understand is why you lied to me. What did you think that I would do?" I whirled around and stared at the trees. "My sister was right. I can't believe that I said that. Katie was right about something, about this. You're—I'm so dumb. I made the exact same mistake with anther guy. There has to be some kind of record for this."

"I am _nothing_ like that bastard and your sister was wrong," he snarled, his arms beginning to tremble uncontrollably. The clouds rolled in overhead, ominous and overbearing. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be in danger. I didn't want—" He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension that was radiating through him.

"Jared?"

"The last thing that I wanted to do was hurt you. I was trying to find a way to tell you. But how do you tell someone that they're going to be bound to you for the rest of your life when you've been a pompous, self-centered asshole for the last ten years? I knew you by name and reputation only, Kim, and that's not saying much." He was pacing now, his fingertips moving so quickly I could hardly see them. "You had no reputation to speak of. Not until you told me, did I know that _you_ were the one involved with the Winter Formal freshman year." He raked a trembling hand through his hair and stopped to look at me. "I didn't know you, Kim. All I wanted to do was to get to know you. That's all this was. It wasn't about lying to you or hiding something. I just—"

He groaned and kicked a rock. I watched it fly with enough speed to have beheaded a squirrel and looked back at him. "You just don't get it. This isn't some book. This is my life. The day that I looked at you, actually looked at you, Kim, I realized how screwed up I'd let everything become. Someone like you was sitting underneath my nose for years. I was stupid enough to have let that go unnoticed. I just…I'm so sorry, Kim. You can't even know. I wasn't lying to you or trying to keep it from you. I would ave told you. I just…" He looked straight at me, his eyes burning amber. "I wanted you to like me as much as I've started to like you." The words were said softly, a whisper carried on the wind. "That's what this was about, Kim. I was trying to… I don't know…maybe woo you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my imprint. Because I see you in a way I haven't seen anyone in a long time. Because you're incredible, and you don't even realize it."

How many hours had I spent reading those books, wishing that I could meet one of the Warriors? How many hours had I wished about imprinting, finding someone who would always love me? How many dreams had I had about it? And now, here it was, staring me in the face…and I was terrified. I wasn't special. I wasn't enough to keep Jared's attention. I was realistic. Katie said things to be malicious, to tear me down…but there was some truth to the things that she said. In the world of high school, I was nothing that should ever attract Jared Littlecreek.

And I'd dragged him out here in the forest to show me what he could do, to see for myself what he was capable of. Now, all I wanted was for the earth to swallow me whole, to disappear from all of this. "I—I can't do this. I'm…I'm sorry. I just…I can't." I did the only thing that i could, at that point.

I turned and fled.


	29. Chapter XXVIII

**Author's Note: I know that I said no chapters today, but I'm going to be posting this story, ****_Beware the Frozen Heart_****, and ****_Feathers for the Sky. _****It's to make up for the fact that I didn't get chapters up Tuesday night and I only got a chapter up for this story last night. And the review count for tonight is going to be FIVE REVIEWS to have a chapter tomorrow night. I think that covers everything. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXVIII<strong>

I punched the pillow for the tenth or fifteenth time. I wasn't quite sure. I did know that the rain was pounding against the plexiglass windows, the thunder was barreling through the clouds. If I lived anywhere else, I would be worried about the lightning starting forest fires. Fortunately, La Push was the coldest, dampest, wettest place to live. I would be surprised if it even started a little smoke in the forest. But the storm raging through this place wasn't what was killing me.

It was the wolf's howl that I heard through all the noise.

It sounded every thirty-two minutes on the dot. I was getting tired of hearing it, but only because of the guilt that each howl brought through my body. It was just too much. I'd been standing in that forest, telling myself to hear him out, that it couldn't freak out. I had read everything that there was to read about these legends. I thought that I was prepared for them to be real, but when they were staring me in the face, when everything that I had read about became a reality…It just didn't see to be real. I couldn't handle it. I'd wanted him to tell me the truth, I wanted to see the wolf. But it was just too much. All of the sudden, I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't even try to be rational. It was better for everyone if I just walked away.

Martha had tried to talk to me when I'd come back, my hair dripping and straight now. When I'd made it perfectly clear, though, that I was in no mood to talk, she'd let me be. I think she assumed that I had been upset by Adam and Katie's appearance. Whatever her reasoning was, I didn't care. i was glad that I was going to be alone for the night. Or at least, I'd thought I was going to be alone. A howl sounded outside the windows, drowned out by the sound of thunder. The thunder subsided, a whimper left behind in the silence.

"This is ridiculous!" I growled, unzipping and throwing back the sleeping bag. I shoved my feet into my faux-fur lined boots, shoving my flannel plaid pants into the shafts. I bundled myself into the thick, fleece lined jacket and walked out of the shed and into the dense, cold forest. "Jared!" I shouted. I was assuming that it was him in the forest. Of course, it could be the rest of the Pack. I hadn't even asked how many of them there were. "Jared? Are you out there?" I called. The wind was slicing through my thick clothing, soaking straight to my bones.

Maybe I had overreacted. Maybe I should have let him explain a little more. It just got to the point that everything in my brain shut down. Now, though, listening to the despondent howling in the forest, I just wanted to talk to him. The last thing that I'd ever intended to do was hurt him. "Jared?" I called again, grateful for the copes of trees that kept the rain off my back for a moment. "I'm sorry!" I screamed to the darkness. "Can we talk?" I pleaded then. The wind slashed at me, running through the trees and pulling at my jacket and hair. I stumbled a step forward and crossed my arm over my chest to ward off the chill. "I'm sorry."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that there are dangerous things in the forest?" I whipped around to look at the woman standing in front of me. Her hair was damp with the rain, the curls having tightened up and framing her face beautifully. "Your Pack is running themselves ragged looking for me. How excited will they be when they realize that I've taken you as well?" she beamed at me.

"Jared!" I shouted, turning back and running towards the barn at a dead sprint. I came to a sudden dead stop by something hard and very much like a a rock. I fell to the ground and clutched at my chest, gasping and rolling on the ground.

"You just make it far too easy," she said. "And you're not even the one that I want to hurt. But your little wolves have become such a nuisance, I need to do something to distract them." I shoved myself to my feet, needing to run again and get away. The woman just laughed at me.

A growl cut off the woman's voice. An ash grey wolf appeared in front of me, his eyes the same amber color as the man I'd left standing in the forest in hours earlier. He snarled at me, gripping my shirt between his teeth and jerking me towards him. I sprawled on the ground again, but this time, heat and softness surrounded me. I heard him growl, felt it rumble through his chest and into his throat alongside the thunder that ripped through the sky. The air whooshed by me, the rain finding the angle to pelt me. I cringed against the cold. In my little cage, it was warm, humid from the rain that clung to the wolf's coat and my hair. The rain was still freezing, though. I burrowed myself farther into the warmth and shelter that was offered me.

I heard dogs barking, the sound deafening me as it mingled with the growls. "Another time," the redheaded woman said, disappearing just as swiftly as she'd appeared. The wolf standing over me shifted and curled itself tighter to me, hiding me from the dirt that sprayed as the rest of the wolves leapt after her. My eyes closed tight, arms curled over my head, I listened as the barking grew quieter and quieter, as the pounding sound of paws fainted into the distance.

Slowly, the wolf huddled over me lifted, the wind blasting at me like an AC unit. I shuddered, my wet clothing clinging to my skin now. The wolf whimpered as he saw me struggle to my feet, stepping closer slowly. His nose gently pressed into my arm, urging me towards the tree that wasn't far behind us. He shoved his head into a hollow that I hadn't seen, turned back and around and motioned for me to come forward. My knees were shaking with the cold, making it difficult for me to move forward. One big paw swept forward when I struggled to stay upright, pressing on my stomach and giving me some support.

He sat back on his haunches, waiting until I made it into the smaller hole. I crouched down and huddled into the hollow, which was much larger than it looked. He yipped at me, leveling his eyes with mine. "I'll-l-ll w-w-wait h-h-here," I stuttered, silently thanking God that I hadn't bit off my tongue while trying to speak. The wolf gave another soft bark before disappearing into the darkness of the trees. The hollow protected me from most of the rain and wind, but it didn't help with the chill that was setting in front the cold clothing and freezing air.

"Let me walk you back," I heard, struggling to make out Jared's broad form through the rain that was pouring down in buckets. His hand appeared in front of me, trembling slightly. I slid my hand into his, absorbing the warmth that radiated from him. "You're like ice," he murmured. His other hand closed around my bicep and gently yanked me to my feet, both arms wrapping around me and bringing me against a wet, warm chest.

I shivered uncontrollably, allowing myself the comfort of burrowing into his chest and feeling the warmth of him against my icy skin. "I told you that there are dangerous things out here, Kim. I know that you're angry, but you have to be careful," he chastised. His arms tightened around me, his breath whispering into my hair. I was sure that he said something, but I couldn't hear it over the chattering of my teeth. "Let's get you out of this rain," he said when I failed to respond.

I watched through fatigued eyes as he stooped, but realized his intention far too late. He lifted me against his chest as I protested, finding myself roundly ignored. Although, there was also the chance that my teeth were cracking together too much for me to be clearly heard. "I-I-I'm t-t-too big," I tried to say, but he only chuckled in his throat and hefted me closer to his chest. "J-J-J-Jared," I grumbled, all the blood rushing to my face with embarrassment.

"You're as light as a feather, Kim. As cold as you are, you couldn't walk through here even if you wanted to. You should probably take a hot shower after I get you back to the barn." The concern glowing in his amber eyes was enough to undo me. Between that and the blatant hurt shimmering in their depths, I knew I was going to be a mess. "And then I'll leave."

"N-n-no." He looked down at me, the hurt flashing like lightning. "S-s-stay. Please."

"Kim, I don't want—"

"Please. I'm s-s-sorry that I r-r-ran." The barn came into view, the lights shining overhead. Jared shook his head like a dog as he ducked under the doors and into the hallway. Lakota pranced to her door, nickering and whinnying as she tossed her head. "I w-w-want to talk." I tried to explain that I was just overwhelmed, wanted to tell him that I was sorry for running out, but I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.

He set me on the bed and unzipped the sleeping bag, settling it around me like a blanket. "We can talk tomorrow. You need to get warm or you'll catch your death. And you have to promise me that you'll be careful, Kim. This redhead is causing problems for all of us lately. I don't know why she's after you. Damn vampires only seem to want to hurt people."

"She said that she wanted you guys to leave her alone," I replied, my stuttering less pronounced. "Hurting a few of your mates would distract you."

He sank down on the mattress beside me, his weight causing the hinges on my cot to creek. He hesitated a moment before wrapping an arm around my shoulders and drawing me against his chest. Good Lord, I didn't know that it was possible for someone to be as warm as he was. "You're so cold," he sighed, a hand coming up to my hair. "You should've have gone out in the forest."

"I could hear howling. I thought maybe it was you. And—"

"And what?" There was a distinct note of pleading to his voice, of a desire for an answer to his question.

I pressed my cheek into the curve of his neck, feeling the warmth of his skin and the beating of his heart. "And I was hoping it wasn't too late for our date."


	30. Chapter XXIX

**Chapter XXIX: ****_Jared's Point of View_**

"I am _nothing_ like that bastard and your sister was wrong," I growled. My fingers started shaking and jaw clenched with frustration. I couldn't believe the rage that poured through me at the words. How could she think that I was _anything_ like Adam Riverton? "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be in danger. I didn't want—" The chill crept eerily through the air as I thought of all the harm that could fall on my imprint. That redheaded vampire could kill her without trying. I would lose her.

"Jared?"

"The last thing that I wanted to do was hurt you," I choked out. "I was trying to find a way to tell you. But how do you tell someone that they're going to be bound to you for the rest of your life when you've been a pompous, self-centered asshole for the last ten years? I knew you by name and reputation only, Kim, and that's not saying much. You had no reputation to speak of. Not until you told me did I know that _you_ were the one involved in the Winter Formal freshman year. I didn't know you, Kim. All I wanted to do was to get to know you. That's all this was. It wasn't about lying to you or hiding something I just—" I let out a growl. "You just don't get it. This isn't some book. This is my life. The day that I looked at you, actually _looked_ at you Kim, I realized how screwed up I'd let everything become. Someone like you was sitting under my nose for years. I was stupid enough to have let that go unnoticed. I just…I'm so sorry, Kim." I finally realized that I was rambling, that I was agitatedly running my hands through my my hair and trampling the leaves beneath my feet.

I stopped and looked at her, looked at the confusion that seemed to be clouding her eyes. "You can't even know. I wasn't lying to you or trying to keep it from you. I would have told you. I just… I wanted you to like me as much as I've started to like you." Her eyes widened, a breath of a sigh whispering from her lips. "That's what this is about, Kim. I was trying to…I don't know, maybe _woo_ you."

"Why?"

How could a girl so beautiful and intelligent be this damn stupid? "Because my imprint." I couldn't believe how good it felt to actually say those words, to actually tell her the truth. Any danger that I would have to protect her from would be worth it for getting to say those words to her. "Because I see you in a way I haven't see anyone in a long time. Because you're incredible, and you don't even realize it." The Spirits had outdone themselves when they'd given her to me. Kim may not understand why she was mine, but I did. I saw the beauty and understanding that she would bring to the Pack. We were hot headed, it was our curse to live with. But Kim…She could be attacked, shouted out, and she somehow blamed herself. I could teach Kim how to stand up for herself, but she could teach us to be calm and understand our opponents.

I watched the emotions flit across her face, watched the astonishment turn to fear, turn to sadness turn to confusion, and eventually well up with tears. "I—I can't do this." My heart didn't just sink. It imploded. "I'm…I'm sorry." She folded her arms across her chest and staggered a step away from me. She had been doing so well. I'd actually thought I was going to be fortunate enough to have an imprint who wouldn't freak out when she learned the the truth. "I just…I can't."

"Kim, please—" But she was already gone, her feet padding along the path. A part of me wanted to chase after her, wanting to explain a little more. But I couldn't. Eventually, she would feel the same pull that I had been feeling for almost a week. She would come back. I would be able to talk to her. Maybe it had just been too much for her. Maybe she just needed time to understand what she'd been told. I could remember the first time that I'd phased, the things that had been told. It would've been so much easier to have just disappeared. That was what Kim was feeling.

I stripped out of my clothes and phased, needing some way to release this pain and anger that was eating at my heart. _Aren't you supposed to be on a date?_ Paul grumbled. After Sam, we'd been the first to phase. We'd been friends before because of sports and life, but phasing changed everything. Our friendship come from necessity now, from a need to have another person understand you. So much time had passed between the first phasing and now that I couldn't not having Paul's irritating voice in my head. _It was that bad, huh? I told you not to wear that cologne. It smells. You should've listened—_

_It smells to you because you can smell all the chemicals. Go bother someone else,_ I snapped. I'd probably have to take a beating before he'd forgive me for that one. But I didn't really care about that. I had to figure out a way to make Kim understand. Sam had warned me what imprinting would mean to her. He'd told me what had happened when he'd told Emily, how she had panicked. Everything that had led up to his explosion and the scars that no marred Emily's face. Jake had even told me how poorly Ryanne had taken it. I probably should've taken that more to heart. Jake knew everything about Ryanne.

_Well, maybe you should've found a different way to tell her. You did just kind of blurt it out, _Paul suggested.

_Was there another way to tell her? _I growled. _I mean, you should have heard the things that her sister said to her. Kim believes what they say, too, _I muttered. My mind turned back to the tears that had filled her eyes as she'd explained what her sister had plotted, all the things that she'd experienced. There had to have been something I could have said differently, something that might have made her more amenable to listening. But there was nothing. Until the last moment, she'd been just fine. _Look, you can go and check on Ari or whatever you need to do. I'm going to stay on patrol._

_Running yourself into the ground isn't going to change the fact that she freaked, Jare._

_Nothing is going to change that. Go; I'll stay on for the next few shifts. I'm too pissed right now. _Paul shrugged, but walked away anyways. I let out a regular low pitched howl to let the guys know that all was well, but with my frustration towards Kim and the way that things had turned out made the sound lonely, forlorn.

I was happy that I'd decided to stay, especially when I'd heard Kim's voice calling to me, begging to me. I raced across the reservation, my paws eating the dirt between the south side of the reservation and where Kim's barn was on the north eastern corner. The redhead was standing on front of my imprint, her hair a fiery mss hanging damply about her face. Kim was trembling, soaked to the bone and obviously out of breath.

What would I have done if something had happened to her? Sitting on the bed now with her wrapped in my arms and pressed against my chest, I almost couldn't breathe for thinking about it. I held her all the tighter, pressed her face against my skin and inhaling deeply. I hadn't thought there was anything better than getting to _tell_ her that she was my imprint, but hearing her asking me if it was too late for our date beat that by miles.

Kim trembled in my arms, her skin the same temperature as ice. "You should go and take that warm bath," I suggested when she tried to come even closer. Gently, I lifted her into my lap and tucked her head beneath my chin, stroking her arm as I cuddled her close. "You'll be lucky if you don't catch pneumonia."

"I'll be fine," she tried to say, but her teeth were still chattering. I was a bit surprised that she still had a tongue in her mouth. "It's not the first time I've been caught in the rain." Just the thing every wolf longed to hear from his imprint. "I should get out of these clothes, though." I was glad that she recognized that much. I let her slide from my lap and duck behind one of the saddle racks. A series of thick, nylon curtains hanging in her way.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked her, trying to avoid staring at her clothing being tossed over the pole and onto the ground. She came staggering out like a a drunk man from a bar, her lips still quivering as she walked. "You're going to fall. Come here."

"I thought that I was cold before," Kim complained as she walked shakily towards me. I took her hand in mine and pulled her to the little cot with me.

"I have no idea how you sleep on this thing," I complained. Kim curled herself on the cot and shivered a little harder. I tossed the flannel-lined down sleeping bag over her. She rolled herself over, clutching the blanket tighter to her chest. "We can go out tomorrow," I assured her, running a hand over her hair, down her shoulder. She reached up with fingers that were only slightly warmer than they'd been before and clutched my hand.

The cold must have made her delirious because I was sure that she sighed loudly. "I should get going," I suggested, not wanting to invade her privacy. She pressed my hand to her stomach, resting the digits against her sternum. Not the place that I needed to be at the moment. It was hard enough to let her go. "You should go and have that bath or shower, Kim. You're going to get too cold."

I sank down on the mattress, my hip pressed against hers. "You should stay," I heard.

"Kim—"

She rolled and tightened her hold on me, gently pulling me down to lay beside her. This girl had the ability to make me forget every good intention that I had for the two of us. I rested my weight alongside her, lining my chest with her back and wrapping my arms around her. Sleep settled over me almost instantly, cuddling her as close to me as I could before the darkness settled over me and the peace of holding the woman in my arms stole away everything else.

_"__Kimberley Louise Conwell!"_


	31. Chapter XXX

**Chapter XXX**

I was cozy and warm, warmer than I had been the entire time that I'd been sleeping at the barn. A comforting weight was settled over my waist, pressing me down into my mattress and up against a wall. I opened my eyes slowly, afraid to break the peace of the moment. An arm was draped indelicately across my waist, long, rough fingers wrapped around mine. My brain was fogged over with sleep, but it definitely knew that something wasn't right about this. Unfortunately for my brain, my heart was perfectly content where it was. It had no intention of letting my body move. I let my eyes slide closed again, savoring the warmth and familiarity that was so new to me. I could figure out what was going on later.

"Kimberley Louise Conwell!"

I was startled awake by the shot that bounced off the walls and the clattering of the door as it was yanked open and banged against the hinges. I told myself to keep my eyes shut, to ignore the voice that was shouting at me. It would be worth any punishment I would have to endure if I could just stayed wrapped in bliss.

A cold, brittle hand locked around my wrist and jerked me from my spot against the wall. A wall which growled, tightened its hold on my waist, and dragged me back against it. "Kimberley, you get out out of bed with that man right this instant." My mother? Why did it have to be my mother? Anyone else would have been just fine. For once in my life, I was wishing that it would be Katie who was standing in front of me. From the sounds of things, my mother was so beyond angry. I was going to be in more trouble than imaginable.

I opened my eyes again and looked at the arm that was wrapped about my waist. I was in bed with a man. I mean, my mother had just shouted at me about it, but somehow the words had clicked. The arm around me slid a little further, the palm planting itself in the mattress in front of me and heaving upright. Shoulders crowded around mine and a well-muscled chest pressed against my back. "Mrs. Conwell, I promise you that nothing untoward happened," I heard a familiar voice saying behind me.

Jared. Jared Littlecreek.

I was in bed with Jared Littlecreek.

A Quileute wolf Warrior who had imprinted on me, who I had shut out, who I'd gone looking for in the middle of the night, who'd been forced to take me back to the barn. Who was sitting in bed alongside me.

Oh, this was so very bad. I had thought that anything else _before_ was bad. "Get off of that cot!" my mother shrieked. "I cannot believe you, Kimberley. I let you come to this barn and spend all of your time here. I put my trust in you, and _this_ is how you choose to repay me?" she was shouting at me. I tapped Jared's arm lightly, hoping that he would release me without having to make too much of a scene in front of my mother. God knew she was already looking for something to argue about and someone to blame. The last thing that I needed was to give her a reason to blame Jared for anything. He let go of my waist hastily and pushed to a sitting position. I followed, hugging the feather filled sleeping bag around me like it was a shield.

I don't know why I was acting like I'd been caught in some great compromising position, but I did. I was definitely holding my blanket like I needed to modestly cover myself when I was wearing a t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. Hardly scandalous. "Something has to be done about this," my mother declared. "You!" She pointed an offended finger at a shirtless Jared. "Put your clothing on. Kimberley, get out of that bed this instant. You and I need to have a discussion." She didn't wait for me to respond, only turned on her heel and stormed out of the tack shed.

I rolled to the edge of the mattress and pressed my feet against the floor. Jared was still beside me for a few moments before he moved to match my position. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you into any trouble," he said. "I should've left last night, no matter what. I just—"

"I didn't want you to leave," I admitted. "My mother never comes down here."

"I'm just happy it wasn't Tex who found us," he replied just as softly. "He's been threatening to carve out a piece of my ass with that gun of his."

"Tex is all bark no bite," I chuckled.

"He may be for you, but something tells me he and Martha wouldn't have been too happy to see me in bed with you."

I blushed ruby red and buried my face in my hands. Jared had just said that he was in bed with me. I opened my mouth to say something when my mother shrieked my name again. Groaning, I shoved my feet into my boots and wrapped my arms about my chest. "All that your father and I do for you, and this is how you choose to repay us?" she growled at me. Her back was to me, her hair swept up in a dark black bun. She was staring at my horses, her arms crossed over her chest and her brow stern. "Your sister was right."

"Mother, this isn't what it seems. Jared—"

"Katie has been warning us for years that you have been using yourself to get the things that she has. I just never thought that it was true. What happened? He wanted to be with Katie so you offered him something…something _else_ to get him to be with you?" she guess. The tips of my ears burned as I listened to her words.

"Mother, that isn't what this. I swear, I haven't done—"

"You're intelligent, Kimberley. You don't have to sleep with a man to have a boyfriend. Boys your age are only interested in looks, but you'll find someone who cares about your brain one day," she said, her hand reaching out to reassuringly stroke my hair. That was the way things were for us. My sister was beautiful. Therefore, it wouldn't be a surprise if someone like Jared wanted to date her. Me, on the other hand…Well, there were a few options. Either are was using me or I had _tempted_ Jared into being in that bed with me.

"I promise you, Mother, I have done nothing wrong. I had a bad dream and…and I went for a walk. I got lost in the rain and Jared found me," I explained. "I was freezing. It started out as just a…body warmth thing. I think that both of us just fell asleep. I was exhausted, Mother, but nothing happened. I swear it."

"All the money your father and I have put into your activities. I've never once asked you to do anything. You have been a spoiled little princess your entire life. And this is the way that you choose to conduct yourself?" I let her rant about what a terrible ungrateful daughter I was. I listened to her snarl about the way that I was disgracing her. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Mother, I didn't do anything wrong," I said again. "Nothing happened between me and Jared. Honestly, I would like to think that you know you raised me better than too—" Her hand struck out before I could guess her intention. I gasped with the force of the blow and raised a hand to my cheek. The skin beneath my palm was hot. I spared a moment to be grateful that she hadn't been wearing one of her cocktail rings. Those had been known to break my skin a time or two.

"I came to ask if I could do your hair and makeup for your meeting with Morton tonight. You should look presentable. He is, after all, one of your father's major associates. Now, I can't even stand to look at you. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Mother, this isn't the eighteenth century anymore. Besides the fact that nothing had happened, girls my age do these things all the time. And marriage isn't required anymore. I mean, Katie—"

"Don't you dare say a bad word about your sister," she growled at me. "Despite what you think, Kim, Katie has only ever wanted what was best for you. She has looked out for you from the time that you were a child. Do you have any idea how bullied you would be? And now you are trying to disgrace her as well? You have no shame. I cannot possibly imagine how you and your sister developed in the same wound. I just…" she let out a frustrated growl. "You best stay away from the house for the next forty-eight hours. I cannot stand to look at you."

"Mother—"

"Not another word." I looked down at the ground. "Try your best not to embarrass your father this afternoon," she added before stomping out of the barn.


	32. Chapter XXXI

**Chapter XXXI**

The tears were welling up in my eyes. My bones were frozen into place as I stared after my mother. I don't know why it hurt so much this time. She'd made such comments about me my entire life. Maybe it was just…I don't know. It was different this time and I couldn't explain it. So, I stood there watching my mother storm away and thinking that she had actually managed to ruin the one place that I considered my safe haven. My lips trembled as I stared at the opening. "Kim?"

I couldn't even bring myself to tell Jared that I was okay. All I could do was stare at the opening and watch as his broad shoulders came around to fill the doorway. "Are you okay?" he asked as he came forward. Had I really started the believe the things that he was saying to me? I knew the dangers of believing something that wasn't true. It wasn't just about _him_ this time, but about believing something that wasn't true. "Kim? Are you okay?" My hand was still pressed against the skin of my cheek. I'd always bruised easily, so it was undoubtable that this strike would bruise as well.

His hot grasped clasped about my wrist and pulled my hand from my cheek with gentle insistency. I heard him suck in a breath that quickly turned to a growl as he surveyed my mother's handiwork. His thumb was gentle as he brushed the pad over my cheekbone. "She did this to you?" he asked, his jaw clenched as he looked at me. I couldn't even figure out what to say in response. "Tex was interrogating me. I couldn't—Are you okay?" He held my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look straight in his eyes. "What did she say to you?"

I licked my lips, forcing my mind to the moment at hand. "Nothing that I haven't heard before," I replied, swallowing convulsively.

"You've said that before," he replied. "I didn't like it then. I'm not all that fond of it now." I allowed my lips to tweak upwards in a smile. "She hit you pretty hard." His fingers tightened around my jaw, the other hand starting to shake.

"Not really. I just bruise easily. My legs look like connect the dots with all the little bruises that I have on them," I replied honestly.

"What were you two arguing about?" he asked then. I explained, trying not to call myself the things that my mother had insinuated. His jaw ticked as he listened to the words, but for once he didn't seem to try and change my mind about things. I watched his hands tremble as he reached up and grasped my shoulder. The other hand slid from my chin to the other shoulder. His grip tightened as he yanked me into his chest. His hand moved slowly over my spine, his chin resting on my head.

"I'm fine, Jared," I lied. I wasn't fine. Something was happening and it wasn't okay or fine or any other adjective that I could imagine. Everything in my life suddenly seemed off. My entire life I had told myself that things in my family were just fine the way that they were. See, I was the person in the family that everyone needed without realizing it. My sister needed me to hold her life together, to make sure that her shoes matched her dress without looking like they matched too much. My mother needed someone to blame for the things that had happened to her. I wasn't stupid enough to think that it was fair. But it was a reality that I had lived with my entire life.

"So," he breathed, drawing out the sound. "I guess I have a date to make up for." That brought a little chuckle out of my mouth. "We kind of missed our reservations last night."

"You'll probably want to wait until this is healed," I said, smiling up at him. "I mean, I'll understand if you don't want to go out with me when I look like _this."_ That didn't seem to appease him in the slightest.

"I'd take you anywhere, Kim; no matter what you're wearing or how bruised your face is. You really should put some ice on that." He took me by the hand and led me back into the tack room, looking around for the small first aid kit I kept. He cracked the icepack to start the cooling agnate and gently pressed it against my cheek. "She had no right to hit you. Even if we have…well, what was she was…what I mean is…"

"I got it," I said, feeling the laughter bubble in my chest.

"Right; well, even if your mom _was_ right about what had happened, she had no right to hit you," he growled. How did you tell someone that it wasn't the first time that it had happened and it probably wouldn't be the last? He would only be frustrated, like Tex and Martha constantly were. I understood what they all wanted. They all wanted me to stand up for myself, to assert myself to my mother and sister, to tell my father that I wanted him to notice me. But my family was…balanced. I know that they didn't see that, but my sister and my mother were happy, my father was content. If one person has to sacrifice… Was there really so much wrong with that? "What are you thinking about?" he asked me, shifting the ice pack a little.

"I, was, um… You said that Tex was interrogating you?" There. The subject was changed and Jared would have to talk for the moment.

"Well, your mom did scream a little loud. She woke him up and he came looking to make sure that you were okay. And he found me sitting in your makeshift bedroom without a shirt on," he said, sighing quietly. "The good news is, he didn't shoot me," he laughed a little. I didn't find much humor in that. My fantastic morning curled in the warmest embrace imaginable was dissolving into the freezing sleet I had been stuck in the night before. "It wasn't that bad. He admitted that he wasn't your father, but he wasn't going to allow those kinds of shenanigans on his property. I assured her there were no 'shenanigans' and that I had only the highest respect for you," he explained to me. "He figured you were getting in enough trouble with your mom." He snorted derisively. "Wonder if he knows what was really going on."

"Probably not and you can't say anything to him. It just makes him upset." I grasped his wrist when he only made a move to pull away again. "Jared, I'm serious. Tex prefers to not really know in exact terms what happens. He just…It's an accident. That's all this was." I wasn't sure what lie I was going to come up with to explain the bruise on my face.

"Does your mother have a nervous system disorder that caused her to randomly slap you?" he snapped at me.

"Jared—"

"Look, there is a difference between spanking your child and beating them. There's also a difference between a child and a sixteen-year-old young woman. There is a difference between hitting your daughter because she did something wrong and hitting her because of a misunderstanding. And, from the sounds of things, this isn't the first time that she's hit you. Right?"

I sighed, licking my lips and taking the icepack from his hand. I opened and closed my mouth four or five times, trying to figure out the words to say. "Never mind," he said quickly. "You're not…I don't want too…We can talk about it some other time. I'd rather talk about your plans for the rest of the day."

"I have lessons. I mean, there's you and then my father's business associate, Mr. Morton, is bringing his daughter back for her second lesson," I said shyly. There was something intimate about the way that he was standing in front of me in a tight fitting undershirt and basketball shorts. He reached up to take the icepack back, lifting it away from my face so he could see how the bruise was.

"Morton is going to be here?" he demanded. I nodded, trying to twist my face towards the mirror that was behind me somewhere.

"Does it look really bad?" I whispered. I was sure that it was dark and I would look like an idiot when I made my excuses to my father and his prospective employer.

"Of course it looks bad. There is a bruise on your face," he snapped. I was a little startled by the sudden change in his behavior. I must have balked, though, because his expression softened. "I was hoping that we would go on our date tonight, but with your lesson schedule, plus the training, I don't think…" He bit his lip, obviously nervous by what he was about to say. "If I make you a promise, will you make me one?" he asked.

"It would depend on the promise," I said cautiously.

"I'll tell you _everything_ tomorrow, when we go for breakfast. I'll explain imprinting, vampires, phasing, patrol. I'll answer every question that you have tomorrow," he said.

I was willing to give almost everything for that opportunity. Still, I knew better than to agree without knowing the terms of his deal. "If I…?"

"If you promise me that you won't let Morton be alone with you. I don't care what you have to do or who else you have to be around. I don't trust him, not after last week. If you promise me that you'll be careful and stay away from him—"

"I'll stay away," I replied. "I learned my lesson last week. I don't know what…if you hadn't been there—"

"I can't be there this time. I have a Pack meeting that I have to go to," he replied. "I'll make sure that someone is around, in case you need help. But I need you to stay out of his way. Promise me."

"I promise," I said solemnly. It wasn't too much to ask, especially since it was something that I had already been planning on doing.

"Good," he said, nodding at me. I smiled. "I should get going. I have patrol to run before my lesson with you."

"We could always—"

"Don't you dare suggest canceling the lesson. It's the highlight of my day. Don't forget to take some anti-inflammatory," he said sternly. I nodded and watched him walk a little further. He stopped at the exit of the barn and turned back to look at me again. "One last thing," he said, striding back and taking my lips with his.


	33. Chapter XXXII

**Author's Note: I know that I've been on radio silence for a while. I've been crazy busy with school and horses and getting ready to go back to California. So, a couple of announcements to get out of the way. I have a final coming up on Wednesday, December 17th. So, more than likely, I will ****_not_**** be updating chapters that day. Next, Friday December 19th to Monday December 21st, I have a lot of stuff to get through. My family does a huge, HUGE holiday party that I have to help prep for. For that reason, I will not be updating until the evening of the 21st. To make up for it, I'm going to offer double updates for three days of various stories. Finally, the week of the 15th, I have two double shifts in the restaurant back-to-back, a final, a dinner shift, a double, a lunch shift, and then I have to get on a plane. For that reason, updates are going to be a little bit sporadic. **

**I think that covers just about everything. Enjoy!**

**Chapter XXXII**

The lesson with Vanessa Morton went about as well as could be expected. I could feel her father's eyes on me the entire time, watching me like a hawk. Without my father there to distract the man, Morton was more outspoken and more willing to make comments towards me. I moved us to the smaller covered arena closer to Tex's side of the barn so the older man would be around and I wouldn't be as alone. It was only luck that Martha came to sit and watch me teach for a little, probably contemplating taking lessons again. I didn't care what she was thinking about. She made sure that I wasn't alone with Morton.

Vanessa seemed to have figured out that I wasn't going to take her attitude. She was al smiles and laughs during her lesson and had listened to every word that I had said, including taking the saddle off of her horse when I asked her to. I was glad to see that Jared hadn't been able to get one of his friends to babysit me. I didn't need the first impression his friends got of me to be a needy little princess who couldn't handle herself. Morton was an extenuating circumstance; I wouldn't argue against that. But he was just a man. I could handle it, so long as I didn't let myself be alone with him.

It wasn't until I was ponying Tex's new three-year-old horse behind Apache that I realized I wasn't alone. A soft rustle in the leaves brought Apache to a stop, the young horse behind me pulling against the lead rope and blowing air out of his widened nostrils. A wolf's nose poked through the thick leaves of a low hanging branch, urging me to back a step. As it came closer, however, I realized the reddish brown wolf in front of me was larger even than the wolf that had crouched over me the night before. "I'm fine," I said quickly, even though my voice was trembling. "I'm just going for a trail ride." The wolf surveyed the way that my horses were staring at him and huffing with fear of the predator before them.

He dipped his head in what I was assuming was a nod, and backed away from me and my horses. The horses stayed in their stiff position until the crunching of leaves and twigs couldn't be heard any longer. Apache went forward at my urging, though his ears were pointed straight up and forward, twitching and listening for any signs of the wolves. The young horse behind us was even more hesitant, pulling against the lead rope latched beneath his jowls. As they walked, though, and discovered no monsters waiting to pounce on them, they gradually calmed more and more until both were willing to walk along the trail.

Neither Martha nor Tex had said called me on the lie about my bruised cheek. The bruise looked dark and bad, but it didn't hurt or anything. It just looked bad…Which brought me back to the moment that my mother had hit me…the words that she had said.

It was difficult to figure out what I should even feel about it. No matter how often she "punished" me, I was always shocked. When I was a little kid, I blamed myself. I told myself that I had deserved the punishment that I was receiving. I taught myself taught to say things, or the things to do that would make my mother happy. Every move that I made, every word that I said, everything look that I gave became carefully calculated. As I'd gotten older, I'd learned to just stay out of the way. The number of "punishments" I received dwindled. In fact, the slap I received earlier in the morning was the first time in nearly a year.

Apache started, going still as he stared at something in the distance. "Apache?" I called softly. We'd been going for some distance, the three of us content in our little world. In fact, we'd already rounded the bend that put us back on track to head to the barn again. My brain raced to figure out what would make the horse spook. My horses went through a rather rigorous training process to make sure that they didn't spook at most things. The walked on tarps, had them waved in their faces, had been used for civil rights reenactments, had been trained for vaulting and anything else imaginable. As a rule, it was only predators that tended to cause my horses fear.

I listened carefully, but couldn't hear anything out of the of the ordinary. Apache's ears twitched, turning back to face me, cocking to the side, facing forward. Again and again he moved, until he finally heaved a sigh and strode forward cautiously. I reached down and patted his neck gently, urging him forward again. The horses both moved, although the younger one was even more hesitant than he'd been before.

I was now more anxious than ever to get back home. Even if the horses were spooking at nothing more than a wolf who had strayed too close or a snake that was braving the cold in search of some food, I didn't like it. Heedless of the danger, I tapped my horse's side and urged him into an easy lope, dragging the young horse behind us until he too began to lope. I knew the trails, had heard a million lectures about why I shouldn't lope in the forest. There were too man things that could happen while I was there. Still, there was a certain freedom that came with the danger. There were no fences or rails to keep me. If I needed to, I could run until I came to the city instead of the lush forest.

The barn came into sight and I slid from the saddle with enough haste to buckle my knees. My heart was pounding, but not with the kind of exhilaration that normally came with loping. I shook my hands roughly, hoping the clear the jitters. I had nothing to be afraid. The vampire that I had seen in the woods had never gotten close to me. She had threatened, but it wasn't the first time someone had done so. My sister was rather fond of threatening me. Maybe it was because I knew _this_ threat wouldn't be subdued by meekness. Apace was huffing with the exertion, as the lope had been down hill and he'd been struggling to keep his balance in the mud.

It was just the day, I decided. I was just overwhelmed because of the last few days. Between finding out about that the guys I'd been hanging out with was a Spirit Warrior, being confronted with the past all over again, and having my mother quite blatantly call me a whore before she slapped me across the face, my emotions were in tatters. My nerves were fraying at the seams and everything was just coming undone. I rested my forehead against the pommel of my saddle and inhaled the familiar scent of sweaty horse hide.

"Are you okay?"

I started at the voice, even as the sound comforted some deep part of myself that I didn't recognize. Jared was standing behind me, his shoulders just as broad as they were this morning. He looked just as perfect as he had earlier and yet, I was still marveling that the Spirits had chosen_ me_ for someone as perfect as him. Goosebumps crawled up my arms just thinking about it. Someone was looking out for me up there. There was no other reason for Jared Littlecreek to be standing in front of me with his head cocked to the side and a concerned fire blazing in his eyes. His lips were pressed in a straight line with nothing short of worry. "Was it Morton? Did it Morton hurt you?" he demanded, stalking towards me. The younger horse shied away from him fearfully. My horses decided that Jared was okay simply because I had introduced them to him. Lakota was still hesitant of him, but she was young, new and less trusting than the others.

"Morton didn't do anything," I whispered breathlessly. "I just…It was a minor freak-out. That's all. I'm fine." I didn't really _feel_ fine. My heart was thundering. The blood was rushing through my veins and pulsing in my ears. I wanted to go for another trail ride, one that wasn't interrupted by fear this time. I wanted to be alone, to get to cry or freak out or feel whatever it was my body was feeling. I didn't want to put on a brave face or tell someone that everything was okay. It wasn't. My life was flipped upside, never mind okay.

"How about we cancel our lesson?" he suggested, his hands framing my shoulders, his fingers so large they practically overlapped beneath my arm.

"But you paid f—"

"I think we should go on the date that we never got to have," he interrupted. "I have a basket full of food that can easily be packed into some saddle bags. We're going down to the beach, where the two of us will enjoy a picnic."

"A picnic?" I giggled. "I'm wearing cowboy boots, Jared. People don't wear boots to the _beach_."

"They do if they're _horseback riding_ to the beach," he replied. "So don't you take the saddle off that horse…Unless you want to take Navajo or Comanche."

"Jared…Do you have any idea how cold the beach is going to be? There was a storm last night. The beach is going to have a heavy wind and—"

His arms wrapped around me, gently bringing me against his chest. Warmth enveloped me and nestled me against a warm, hard chest. His voice was full of laughter and amusement as he looked at me. "I'll keep you plenty warm," he murmured.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note Cont.: The story will be updated in three days, or within twenty-four hours of my receiving FIVE REVIEWS.<strong>


	34. Chapter XXXIII

**Author's Note: I warned you all that chapters were going to be a little crazy. I hope that you all enjoy today's chapter! The story will be updated next in three days, or after I receive FIVE REVIEWS. Enjoy!**

**Chapter XXXIII**

"And just where do you think you are going?" Tex demanded as I headed into my tack room for the saddle bags. "Kimberley, you have a couple of things to explain. No, I know that I am not your father, but I do care about you. There was a boy in your room this morning. Without his shirt on. And that's not to mention that bruise on your face. It's the middle of the day and you're going on a trail ride instead of a lesson? Kim, what is going on with you?"

If it had been my father that was asking me, there might have been a part of me that was angry or felt like it was unnecessary. But this was Tex. He was honestly concerned about me and about the sudden changes in my personality. And they were rather sudden. Especially the fact that Jared had been in my  
>"room" without his shirt on, far too early in the morning to be at all proper. "I can <em>kind of <em>explain that," I replied, though he didn't seem to think that it was very funny. I sighed heavily, grabbed the nylon saddle bags, turned around and pressed a kiss to his old, grizzled cheek. "Everything is fine, Tex. I'm just…dealing. A lot has hit me in the last couple of days. I'm just figuring things out. But I promise that if anything is wrong, I'll let you know."

His eyes darted about my face a little, looking for any sign that I was lying to him. He must have been content with what he saw because he gave me a stiff nod and patted my shoulder before letting me walk away. "I've got my eye on that boy, Kim. And don't think I won't shoot him just because you like this one," he called after me. Jared must have heard, since his lips were turned in a smile when I returned. He looked very self assured; in fact, one could even call him cocky. I rolled my eyes at him fastened the velcro around the horn, gullet and pommel of my saddle.

Jared slowly loaded up the bags with the food that he had brought, which was more easily termed a feast. The both of us mounted, but for the first time, I let him take the lead. "How was your lesson today? Jake said he saw you and everything looked okay," he commented when we were on the forest path that would lead them to the beach.

"That's who that was? I wasn't sure who all was included in your, uh…your Pack. We haven't really talked about it," I replied, remembering that he had promised me he would answer all of my questions.

"You're right. After we talk about your day and what freaked you out so bad that you galloped back to the barn, then I'll answer your questions," he said. I winced, not having realized that Jake had seen me. "Kim?"

"Nothing happened. Apache spooked at something and he never spooks. I figured that it was better if I just got back to the barn," I explained. "But I didn't seen anyone there. No wolf, no vampire; nothing. That's all," I promised. The trees were beginning to thin and the two of us were nearing the beach. "_Now_ will you answer my questions?"

"How about I tell you a story, and after I finish, you can ask me all the questions that you'd like?" he suggested. I nodded, settling myself more comfortably in the saddle so I could listen.

"I phased for the first time at the beginning of junior year. I had been feeling well for a few days before school, but my dad figured it was just because school was starting, or I didn't want to go. My mom always figured it was because I hung out with Paul LaHote too much," he began, lifting his hand and guiding Comanche down the slope towards the crashing waves and swelling sea. "Paul and I were at practice for the football team. I made some comment about him having a thing for Sam Uley, since he'd been watching both of us so close. It was just a joke; it was supposed to make the both of us feel better." He chuckled wryly.

"But Paul got pissed and thought that I was making fun of him. He jumped on me and tried to beat the shit out of me. Sam dragged the both of us into the forest. Everything hurt. I felt my bones shifting, everything in me boiling and then I just… I exploded. I opened my eyes, but there was no color to the world. Everything was in black and white. But damn if I couldn't _smell_ everything. I could smell the rain gathering in the clouds, the salt swirling in the ocean. I could hear Paul freaking out. I could see what he could see, smell the things that he could smell. As clearly as if I was standing right there at his side.

"In the early days, it was just me and Paul and Jared. But our abilities to phase was triggered by the Cullens return, so as they stayed and as the number of vampires coming through our reservation grew, so did we. The next to phase was Embry, although he wasn't very happy about it. Then Jake Black phased, Leah and Seth Clearwater, and finally Quil. Sam is our Alpha, but only because he was the first to phase. Technically speaking, Jake should be the Alpha. He's pretty damn unwilling, though." Jared dismounted where there was a tree low enough for the horses to stand tied.

I watched with pride as he tied the reins off with expertise. He then came around and slipped his hands around my waist to help me down. I fought the chuckle down in my throat and let him assist me, let him take the reins and tie them off as well. He threaded our fingers together and hefted the saddlebags over his shoulder. "You've heard about Emily Young, right?"

"She was attacked by a bear," I said with a nod.

"That's the official story. But Sam imprinted on her. Imprinting…It's not like what you've read. The Spirits choose a a person for the wolf who is their soulmate, who will make them better in all ways. Sam imprinted on Emily. It's the reason that he broke up with Leah Clearwater. Emily was supposed to be their witness for their elopement, but Sam took one look at her and…That was it for him. Imprinting was supposed to be some kind of myth, something that not many wolves did. But Jake imprinted on Ryanne the moment that he saw her after he'd phased. He'd been best friends with her for year. She was his soulmate and she'd been sitting right under his nose for years."

He chuckled again, helping me up onto the outcropping of rocks. The top of it was flat, enough so that we could sit comfortably and eat out food. He began laying out the banquet of food, the wind beating against the both of us. "That seems to be pretty standard, though. The people that we find, the ones we're supposed to be with forever are the ones that are sitting right underneath us the entire time," he explained, handing me a plate to pile food on. "I've been going to the same school with you for ages, Kim, but I had no idea that you were sitting there waiting for me. If I had known…I could've saved both of us so much trouble. You, especially. You'd have never known the likes of Adam Riverton."

I placed a small amount of the salad on my plate and drizzled the dressing he'd brought over the lettuce. His eyes watched me like a hawk, making me all the more nervous as I took a slice of chicken as well. My mother had drilled into my head the need to hide your real appetite. No man wanted a woman who could eat ribs like a cowpoke. My sister, being a fair amount lighter than me, always ordered a salad and a water while I liked sandwiches or burgers. My sister counter calories. I counted the hours until I could escape my family and go to the barn again.

I looked up from my plate to see Jared frowning at me, his eyes dark. "Aren't you hungry? I didn't think that you had eaten yet. That's the whole reason that—"

"I'm fine," I assured him. I had a feeling that his overbearing need to make sure I was okay was going to get old after a while. I never had anyone asking me about my well being, never mind asking me as often as Jared did. "I don't think that anything would have changed, Jared. I mean, the reality is that you and I would never have become…friends if not for you being a Spirit Warrior," I explained.

"I don't think so," he said swiftly. "Kim, the Spirits picked the person that I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life. I have to believe that I would've wizened up eventually. I have to believe that I would've been smart enough. Because thinking that I wouldn't have found _you_, thinking that I would've been with someone else or that I would've deprived myself of you…That's something I can't even bare to think about."

"Jared, you're not supposed to be someone like me," I said softly. "I mean…" I picked up on of the corn bread muffins that was sitting in the basket. "I know that you hate my sister. And I know that you don't like when I say these things, but Jared we have to be realistic about things. Do you have any idea how many of these I could eat? I like salads and everything, but I'm _not_ a salad girl. I'm not the kind of girl that you can walk around school with and have me hanging on your arm. I'm the girl that everyone is going to stare at and ask why you're with her. I'm the girl—"

"That I imprinted on. And if that isn't enough, you're the girl that I want. I don't are what any of them say. I don't care if they don't understand. And you're right; they're going to stare, but only because you're more beautiful than you even realize. You ignore everything about yourself and say that Katie's the pretty one, that I should be with someone like Katie. But you two are identical twins. You see her as prettier or more deserving because that's what's been drilled into your head. You don't have to believe that we were always meant to be together because I'm going to prove it to you."

He grabbed a cornbread muffin in each hand and put them on my plate. "I don't want you to be anything but yourself, Kim. I don't want a girl who thinks she has to waste away." He piled his own plate with more food than I could consume in three days. "Now, I'm starving. So, I'm going to eat and you are going to ask me every question to heart's desire," he said. "And I don't want to hear a damn thing about your family," he added, stabbing his fork through a piece of chicken and lifted it to his mouth. "I don't care about them. I care about you."

Staring at the fire blazing in his eyes, I found myself believing him…Again.


	35. Chapter XXXIV

**Author's Note: Okay, so here's our next chapter. Just a head's up on the next few chapters. We're going to have a little fluff for a couple of days and then we'll be hitting the drama. Oh, and the story will be updated in three days, or twenty-four hours after FIVE REVIEWS. Enjoy!**

**Chapter XXXIV: ****_Jared's Point of View_**

I watched Kim shyly rip a piece of her muffin and pop it into her mouth. Lush, rusty colored lips closed over the morsel, her pink tongue coyly reaching out to moisten her lower lip. She kept her gaze downcast, her cheeks flushed red. She was obviously embarrassed that she was eating in front of me, not that it made any sense to me. I didn't have much experience with girls, at least not on this level. The only women that I had grown up with had been my mother and grandmother. And other than the girls I'd dated at school, my exposure had consisted of Emily Young, who loved to cook more than anyone I'd ever met, and Ryanne Swan, who wasn't the least bit concerned about eating in front of other people.

I couldn't wrap my mind around Kim's fearfulness and hesitation, especially not when I saw her on a horse. I told myself that I had to accept the things that her family had drilled into her beautiful head, at least for the moment. But there were times when I listened to her talk about herself, when I heard her saying that I deserved someone _better_, and all I wanted to do was beat her sister's head into a wall. Or her mother's. Either of them would do. Hell, I would be content if I could have three minutes alone in a room with her father. Heavens knew he deserved something for the pain he'd allowed to be inflicted on his daughter. "I'm sure you've got some questions," I said when she'd been silent for some time. I'd had a few when I'd first phased. Then again, my imprint had been determined to find out the truth and had done plenty of research on her own.

"I don't know," she said softly, resting her wrist on her lap and looked up at me. "I think I just need some time to adjust. It's a lot to take in at one time. I mean, finding out that you were a wolf was big enough, then you tell me that you imprinted one. It's a lot to take in at one time, don't you think?" I could see what she was saying. She didn't so much have questions as she needed time to figure out what was happening to her life.

Time was something that I could give. As long as she understood that I couldn't be away from her for too long. Those were probably some of the things that I should explain a little better. "I understand that this is all probably really crazy for you, Kim. I can give you all the time that you need. I'll never rush you or hurt you and anything like that. But there are a couple of things that I need to explain."

"More than, 'I turn into a giant wolf'?" she muttered. There was a teasing glint to her eyes and a lovely giggle in her voice.

"Well…yeah, there is that," I said, reaching up to pinch and pull at the skin at the nape of my neck. "I was thinking more along the lines of imprinting, though." She ripped a piece of chicken and plopped in her mouth as well, playing with the tips of her fingers instead of looking at me. "I know that you've done a lot of reading, Kim, but there's some things that aren't in books. For starters, I can't really be away from you for too long. Like…physically. When the two of us fight or get angry, it will affect us on a different level. I'm not trying to freak you out or anything. I just…Well, look…I…" Why was it that when I had to tell her something, I ended up with a tongue that was a mile thick? "What I'm trying to say is that I'll give you all the time that you need. But I need you to understand that I can't stay away from you. No matter what's going on, no matter how angry you are at me—It's the one thing I can never do, Sunshine."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, his head cocked to the side and creamy white skin exposed to the sun. "I have a question," she declared after a moment. I just waited for her to speak again. "Why do you call me that? Sunshine, I mean."

"You probably don't want to know the answer to that question," I warned. I had no way to explain her nickname that wouldn't upset her, but I had promised her honest answers.

"Well now I have to know," she said, pulling the length of her ponytail over her shoulder.

"I know that you don't agree with me, but your family…The way that they treat you is deplorable, Kim. And despite of all of that, you are still the happiest person that I've ever met. You're quiet. You try to blend in but when you're yourself, when you're letting yourself be free, you're just happy and bright. You're like sunshine in a bottle. Despite what your family does to you, despite how they treat you, despite the things they say, you always seem to be happy. That's why I call you Sunshine. You practically ooze it," I explained softly.

"I'm not sure that was a compliment," she muttered. "I have another question." I nodded. "What does it feel like? To…you called it phasing, right? What does that feel like?"

My lips twitched a little at the question before I answered. "The first couple of times, it hurt. I could feel the bones shifting and everything moving around inside of me. Everything w as hot, so damn warm I thought I was going to melt down. After a while, I learned what triggered it. I learned that if I kept myself from getting angry, I could avoid the pain. Unfortunately, after the first phase, everything seems to make you angry. My mother told me to clean my room one day and I lost it. If Sam hadn't been there to pull me out…I don't even want to think about it." The knowledge that I could've seriously hurt my mother, that I could've killed her… "It's taken a long time to be able to control myself. For a long time, I thought that I had it completely in control. But after I met you," I trailed off, not sure how to explain it to her.

I saw hurt flash in her eyes and frowned, wondering what I had said that had made that emotion appear. After I'd imprinted o her, anything that hurt her only made me angry. Her sister, her mother, her dad, the school, even the things that my Pack said about her. It all made my blood boil. And then there were the things that she said about herself, the times that she declared herself ugly or unworthy. Those had the ability to push me close to the brink of phasing every time. It was getting frustrating to know that she didn't see herself the way that she was.

"What's wrong?" I asked when the hurt didn't clear after a moment. I had learned that I said things to her that hurt her, but she was always quick to shrug them off.

"Nothing," she responded, but the answer was too quick. She was looking down at her plate again, picking at the food that she had on her plate.

"Kim, please tell me what I did wrong," I begged, grasping her chin and pulling her gaze to me. "Please. The last thing that I want to do is hurt you. That's never my intention."

"I just don't see how the imprint could work if imprinting on me makes you angry. So angry that you lose control," she breathed.

"That's not—Kim, that is the last thing that I meant. Imprinting on you isn't what makes me angry. It's the way that people treat you that makes me angry. It's your family and the school," I explained, brushing my thumb along the bow of her lower lip. "I'm starting to think that imprinting on you make be the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, Kim. You're the thing that puts me back in control. I lose it because I realize that I deprived myself of you for years by being a pompous ass for years. You and I could've been friends, could've known each other if I'd just opened my eyes. If I had seen beyond my doorstep. _That's_ what makes me angry. Not you. _Never_ you, Kimberley."

She smiled at me, the hurt disappearing from her eyes and replaced with an emotion that I couldn't quite define. "I don't know what to do with you, Jared Littlecreek," she muttered, gently removing herself from my hold and picking up her fork again. "Sometimes, you make it hard not to believe the words that you say."


	36. Chapter XXXV

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I know that it's been a while since I updated. I finished up a crazy week and then the holidays (which are insanity in my family) and started my new set of horses that need to be trained. Now that everything is calmed down again, I can start writing again. So, here's the next chapter. I hope that you all enjoy. I ask for just a little bit of patience while I get back into the swing of things. I'm working on it. Happy Reading!**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXXV<strong>

His fingers were rough with calluses, but the friction sent excitement racing down my spine as he brushed the line of my lower lip. I trembled, my skin puckering and my breath hitching. "I want to see you," I breathed, sliding myself closer to him. His eyebrows creased with confusion, unsure what I was talking about. "The wolf side of you. I want to see him…you. Not in the dark and in the rain this time," I explained. His eyes lit up with pleasure at my words, the lines around his mouth creasing with the gentle smile that tweaked his lips.

"I'd like—"

A deep howl interrupted his words. His eyes shadowed with worry, his thick brows coming to shroud his eyes. "I have to go…It's important. I, uh…You need to go back to the barn. Now," he snapped at me. Before I even had a chance to blink, he had hauled me up in his arms and was bearing me back towards the horses. He set me atop my horse with ease and handed me Comanche's reins. "Don't you dare stop until you get to the barn. Clear?"

"Jared—"

"Kim, I'm dead serious. Back to the barn. Do. You. Understand. Me?" I nodded, my eyes widening at the gruff tone of his voice. "Good. I'll come back to check on you a little later." I nodded again, his lips pressing against my forehead. He lingered a little, like he didn't want to let me go. But he did pull away and he did bound off into the forest beforeI could say another word to him, leaving me to stare after him in confusion. He looked worried, like something was severely wrong. I had heard howling before, but they all sounded the same to me. Maybe I just hadn't seen Jared react to them before.

I lashed the reins in my hand to my saddle and gathered Apache's in my hands before leading the two horses back to the barn as I had been ordered.

Ordered.

Indignation, albeit unfair and completely uncalled for, flashed through my veins. He had no right to tell me what to do. I was more than capable of taking care of myself. And Jared wasn't my mother, brother, father, or sister. He wasn't even like Tex, who constantly ordered me about. He was just another guy that I had met on the streets. Okay, admittedly, he was more important than that. However strange that it may be, he was the person that I was going to be with for the rest of my life. I protested, told everyone that I was happy.

And, most days, I was happy. But there were also days when my family drove me crazy, when the idea that I should just do as I was told and ignore everything else made me want to pull my own hair out. I was an introvert by nature; I knew that. But that didn't mean that I wanted to spend the rest of my life being bossed around and told that I didn't have a choice in my life.

Suddenly, it seemed like all my choices were being stolen from me in the blink of an eye. I would've chosen Jared, if I'd known I'd had a say. But if I'd had a say, I would never have picked _this_. I wouldn't have chosen the one man my sister seemed determined to have. I wouldn't have picked imprinting as the thing that bonded me to this man. I would've changed so many things about this. People were supposed to pick, supposed to decide who they wanted to be, what they wanted to do, if they wanted to stay or go. Every option I'd ever had, every plan I'd ever contemplated had just been stolen from me. Even if I wanted to leave La Push now, to go somewhere new and unknown, I couldn't. I would always have to be here.

Resent curled in my stomach, hard and fast. Jared knew nothing about me, except for the things he'd been attempting to learn in the last week. His efforts were valiant and appreciated. I understood that he was trying to make reparations for all the years that he'd treated me like everyone else had. But he didn't know that my favorite poet was Emily Dickinson, but that my favorite poem wasn't written by her. He didn't know that I hated romantic comedies, but was a sucker for romantic holiday movies. Weren't these things that your partner should know? Jared was supposed to spend the rest of his life with me. He should know that I only started roping because the horses I had weren't right for barrel racing.

He didn't, though. And there was no way that he would learn these things in the next month.

"Well," I muttered to myself, "not unless you tell him." And therein lay the other side of the problem. Could I actually tell him all the things that I thought were important? And would he think they were important, at the end of the day? To me, it mattered that he knew those little things about me. I realized that it probably didn't to him, but still— "What a mess," I grumbled as I ducked beneath the low rim of the barn entrance.

Martha was standing between the sliding barn doors that led to my tack area, her arms crossed over her chest. I had spent the entire day avidly avoiding her. I'd even claimed that I needed to polish the silver on my show tack because I didn't want to answer her questions. There was no doubt that Tex had told her there was a shirtless boy in, what was essentially, my bedroom. "I believe you owe me a few explanations," she said. "What would you like to start with?"

"Martha—"

"You have been avoiding me all day, young lady. We discussed this. I don't have a daughter to live vicariously through, so I'll be living through you." I watched in surprise as she untied Comanche's reins and moved the horses apart. Martha loved Tex and had worked as a veterinary years ago, specializing in equines. She'd made it clear that she didn't want much to do with the training of horses, only their care. I wasn't sure that I had ever seen saddling one of the horses before. I supposed I'd never really given thought to whether or not she knew what she was doing.

"You're not mad?" I asked hesitantly.

"Mad that you stood up to your sister? I've only been waiting five years for that to happen." She dragged the saddle and pad from comanche's back with ease.

"How exactly did I stand up to Katie?" I hadn't say anything to Katie about Jared, no matter what she said to me about it. I pulled Apache's saddle down as well and followed her into the tack room.

"Yes or no responses. Doesn't your sister have a thing for that very tall piece of man?" she asked me. I nodded. "And didn't she try to ruin things between you and the boy?" Again, I confirmed her assumption. "Despite all of that, the boy was on the cot with _you_ this morning. Not your sister. I don't know if there's a clearer way for you to have stood up to her, Kim." She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed tight, smiling at me like I'd cured cancer.

"So…you're not made at me?"

"Oh, I'm furious with you. You know better than to let a young man in your bed, Kimberley. And no, I don't mean _that _way. I just mean in general. But, at the same time, I trust you not to have made a complete mistake of things. You like this boy, a lot. Otherwise, you wouldn't let him come to this barn, never mind sleep here. And you've been gone way longer than you should've for a trail ride, so I'm going to assume that he finally found a way to steal you away." I bit my lip and turned back to my horses. "Oh, don't you dare think you're getting off that easy. You best start spillin' the beans, little girl."

"Nothing _happened,"_ I said quickly. "Jared wanted to go out on a picnic instead of a lesson. We talked about stuff and that's that. Nothing more to say," I explained softly.

Apache stretched his feet after I removed his overreach boots and looked at me expectantly. I rolled my eyes and handed him a chunk of carrot in my pocket. Comanche flipped his mane and stomped his foot in irritation, jealous that he didn't get a treat as well. "If he took you out for a picnic, then why do you look like someone shot your dog?" Martha asked, her head cocked to the side as she looked at me.

"I don't have a dog."

"Kim."

"I just—I feel like everything is upside down and inside out," I breathed. "I mean, me and Jared…don't you think there's something wrong with that?"

"Why is there anything wrong with that? Because you're not your sister?"

"It has nothing to do with…No; that's not why," I said. "I just…me and Jared don't really have anything in common. He's a jock and popular and handsome and. I eat lunch in the back room of the art building, Martha. I mean, seriously. I stay as far away from people as humanly possible. And Jared is…he's Jared. He's the stereotypical high school student. He's smart and funny and popular and all the things that I won't be. Things that I don't want to be, you know?"

"That's the funny thing about love, Pumpkin. It changes everything. We don't get to pick the people that we fall in love with; some higher power does that for us," Martha said softly. "You think that I ever thought that I would be with a cowboy? I'm a city girl from Chicago. I'm used to skyscrapers and concrete roads and city lights. I ended up here, with a cowboy who trains horses for a living. Nothing in my life turned out the way that I thought it would." She looked up at me with a smile. "I'm happier than I thought that I would be. Give him a chance, Kim. Love turns everything the wrong way…and then it makes it better than you thought."


End file.
